28
page 1 National Council for Geocosmic Research, Inc. May-June 2013 memberletter Building Community Through Research and Education NCGR 2013: Almost Here p. 1 Lore of the Stars p. 1 NCGR 2013 Vendor Information p. 2 Do you get E-publications? p. 3 NCGR Board Listings p. 6 Chair Message p. 6 In Touch With Mars p. 7 Solar Eclipse Revelations p. 9 Ancient Triplicities p.12 It’s Opening Night p.15 NCGR 2013 Information p.17 NCGR and PAA News p.19 Welcome to New Members p.19 Book Reviews p.22 Celestial Events p.24 Chapter Contacts p.25 NCGR Balance Sheet p.27 NCGR Information p.28 In this Issue NCGR 2013: It’s Almost Here W ITH ONLY TWO MONTHS TO GO, we are coming around the home stretch of NCGR’s astrology conference Everything Under the Sun: The Art of Astrology, which will take place August 15-19, 2013, at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, in the heart of Philadelphia. Remember to register and check out updates on www.ncgr2013.com and especially to book your banquet dinner prior to the conference, which also allows you to attend a special presentation by Michael Lutin. It is also important to book your hotel room since the room blocks are going fast. There are more than 50 stellar speakers, and enough pre- and post-conference activities to keep everyone happy (see conference ad on p. 11). On Thursday morning, August 15, talk finances with Christeen Skinner in Astro-Trading; join Wendy Stacey for Navigating Our Lives through Outer-Planetary Transits; or learn Rectification Techniques with Gene Shaw. In the afternoon, learn how to get the most out of your nifty gadgets with Demetrius Bagley’s A Technology Toolbag for Today’s Astrologer or join NCGR research director Jagdish Maheshri for a Research Symposium. NCGR 2013 will also host Thursday afternoon presentations by the Associa- tion for Young Astrologers titled Four for the Future, featuring Rebecca Crane, Eric Pride, Dr. Jenn Zahrt and Wonder Bright; and NCGR-PAA will present Giving Voice to Life Transitions: Demon- strating the Art & Technique of Astro- logical Consulting with Meira Epstein conducting a live consultation preceded please turn to p. 2 Lore of the Fixed Stars by Kenneth Johnson O NCE UPON A TIME, astrologers paid attention to the fixed stars. Today, only a few explore the meaning of that vast expanse of sky that lies beyond the signs of the zodiac. Contemporary astrologers laugh—or grimace—at some of the peculiar and depressing interpreta- tions, which have come down to us from the past regarding these luminous heavenly bodies. And yet the lore of the fixed stars was part of a powerful system of meaning, symbolism, and astrological interpretation. Though some fixed stars were important until late medieval times, the core of the Western tradition is Hellenistic. Of all the ancient works on the fixed stars, the most impressive is a short piece entitled The Treatise on the Bright Fixed Stars. 1 The author is anonymous, but the date of his by a panel discussion with Claudia Bader and Judi Vitale. After the closing ceremonies on after- noon, join Frank Piechoski for a walking astrological tour of Philadelphia, high- lighting the history of the city and the birth of a nation. On Monday, attendees have the difficult choice between either Chris Brennan’s Timing Peak Periods in a Person’s Love Life or Rick Levine’s 12 Steps to Better Chart Readings: Improv- ing Your Client Consultations. If you have not yet booked pre- and post- conference events, be sure to do so at www.ncgr2013.com. work is firmly established at 379 CE. He assures us that many of his observations come from empirical experience—in other words, he seems to have used the fixed stars extensively in his own practice. His list of stars, with a few minor variants, is the same as that given by Ptolemy in the Tetrabiblos, who assigns each fixed star (or sometimes each constellation) to two different planets, leaving his readers to deduce that the interpretation of such stars ought to be worked out by blending the meanings of the two. In addition to the Hellenistic tradition, there is a fixed star tradition from India.

by Kenneth Johnson W - geocosmic.org Rectification T echniques with Gene Shaw. ... strating the Art & Technique of Astro- ... major contact with Caput Algol in a birth

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page 1

National Council for Geocosmic Research, Inc. May-June 2013

memberletter

Building Community Through Research and Education

NCGR 2013: Almost Here p. 1

Lore of the Stars p. 1

NCGR 2013 Vendor Information p. 2

Do you get E-publications? p. 3

NCGR Board Listings p. 6

Chair Message p. 6

In Touch With Mars p. 7

Solar Eclipse Revelations p. 9

Ancient Triplicities p.12

It’s Opening Night p.15

NCGR 2013 Information p.17

NCGR and PAA News p.19

Welcome to New Members p.19

Book Reviews p.22

Celestial Events p.24

Chapter Contacts p.25

NCGR Balance Sheet p.27

NCGR Information p.28

In this Issue

NCGR 2013:It’s Almost Here

WITH ONLY TWO MONTHS TO GO, we

are coming around the home

stretch of NCGR’s astrology

conference Everything Under the Sun:

The Art of Astrology, which will take place

August 15-19, 2013, at the Doubletree by

Hilton Hotel, in the heart of Philadelphia.

Remember to register and check out

updates on www.ncgr2013.com and

especially to book your banquet dinner

prior to the conference, which also allows

you to attend a special presentation by

Michael Lutin. It is also important to book

your hotel room since the room blocks are

going fast.

There are more than 50 stellar speakers,

and enough pre- and post-conference

activities to keep everyone happy (see

conference ad on p. 11). On Thursday

morning, August 15, talk finances with

Christeen Skinner in Astro-Trading; join

Wendy Stacey for Navigating Our Lives

through Outer-Planetary Transits; or

learn Rectification Techniques with Gene

Shaw. In the afternoon, learn how to get

the most out of your nifty gadgets with

Demetrius Bagley’s A Technology

Toolbag for Today’s Astrologer or join

NCGR research director Jagdish Maheshri

for a Research Symposium.

NCGR 2013 will also host Thursday

afternoon presentations by the Associa-

tion for Young Astrologers titled Four for

the Future, featuring Rebecca Crane, Eric

Pride, Dr. Jenn Zahrt and Wonder

Bright; and NCGR-PAA will present

Giving Voice to Life Transitions: Demon-

strating the Art & Technique of Astro-

logical Consulting with Meira Epstein

conducting a live consultation preceded

please turn to p. 2

1234567890123123456789012312345678901231234567890123

Lore of the Fixed Starsby Kenneth Johnson

ONCE UPON A TIME, astrologers paid

attention to the fixed stars. Today,

only a few explore the meaning of

that vast expanse of sky that lies beyond

the signs of the zodiac. Contemporary

astrologers laugh—or grimace—at some

of the peculiar and depressing interpreta-

tions, which have come down to us from

the past regarding these luminous

heavenly bodies. And yet the lore of the

fixed stars was part of a powerful system

of meaning, symbolism, and astrological

interpretation.

Though some fixed stars were important

until late medieval times, the core of the

Western tradition is Hellenistic. Of all the

ancient works on the fixed stars, the most

impressive is a short piece entitled The

Treatise on the Bright Fixed Stars.1 The

author is anonymous, but the date of his

by a panel discussion with Claudia Bader

and Judi Vitale.

After the closing ceremonies on after-

noon, join Frank Piechoski for a walking

astrological tour of Philadelphia, high-

lighting the history of the city and the

birth of a nation. On Monday, attendees

have the difficult choice between either

Chris Brennan’s Timing Peak Periods in

a Person’s Love Life or Rick Levine’s 12

Steps to Better Chart Readings: Improv-

ing Your Client Consultations.

If you have not yet booked pre- and post-

conference events, be sure to do so at

www.ncgr2013.com.

work is firmly established at 379 CE. He

assures us that many of his observations

come from empirical experience—in other

words, he seems to have used the fixed

stars extensively in his own practice. His

list of stars, with a few minor variants, is

the same as that given by Ptolemy in the

Tetrabiblos, who assigns each fixed star

(or sometimes each constellation) to two

different planets, leaving his readers to

deduce that the interpretation of such stars

ought to be worked out by blending the

meanings of the two.

In addition to the Hellenistic tradition,

there is a fixed star tradition from India.

page 2

LORE OF THE FIXED STARS cont’d from p. 1

please turn to p. 3

This is the so-called “lunar zodiac” of the

nakshatras, once 28 in number, but now

numbering 27. In other words, there is one

“constellation” or nakshatra for each day

of the Moon’s monthly motion. It has

been argued that the nakshatras origi-

nated with the beginning of civilization in

India, and that they were the calendar of

the Indus Valley.2 In fact, the nakshatras

are still a primary factor in the traditional

calendar of Hinduism. These stars are

perceived as a group of celestial sisters,

sky goddesses and daughters of the

World Maker, Daksha Prajapati.

In this article I have included interpretive

material from both the Hellenistic and the

Hindu traditions.3 This is not simply for

purposes of cross-cultural comparison,

but because in the majority of cases I

have thus far studied, the Hindu interpre-

tations of important nakshatra stars are

entirely or very nearly identical with the

Hellenistic interpretations of the same

stars.

The ancients agreed that stars lying close

to the ecliptic are much more important

than those that lie far off its path, though

there are a number of important stars,

such as Vega, Arcturus, Fomalhaut and

Sirius, which are fairly distant from the

ecliptic.

In Hellenistic times, only a few horoscopic

positions were deemed to be of great

significance. A fixed star conjunct the

Ascendant or Midheaven was what the

ancients primarily looked for. Aspects

other than the conjunction were seldom

used. And a conjunction should be

close—to within only a few degrees.

According to Anonymous of 379, a fixed

star conjunct the other angles (i.e. the

Descendant or Nadir) is likewise of

significance. The same author notes

conjunctions with the Moon as vitally

important,4 to which we might add the Sun

as well. Similarly, in Hindu astrology the

nakshatras, which are conjunct the Moon

and the Ascendant, are the ones that are

of primary interpretive value.

What, then, should a fixed star actually do

when we find it conjunct one of the angles

or the luminaries? A fixed star conjunct

one of these points elevates the whole

birth chart; it charges the individual’s

stone, and Caput Algol is her severed

head, which Perseus holds in his hand. As

the decapitated head of a demoness,

Caput Algol became known in medieval

times as a star of evil omen, and was often

interpreted quite literally in terms of

decapitation. In actual practice, however, a

major contact with Caput Algol in a birth

chart implies “losing one’s head” in the

metaphorical sense—being so badly

bereft of sense or direction that the rele-

vant conjunction point (Moon, Midhea-

ven, or whatever) often causes some kind

of misfortune for the individual. Caput

Algol is not a part of the Hindu tradition.

The Pleiades (Tropical: 0° Gemini 08’,

Sidereal 6° Taurus 05’). Despite the

world-wide mythological importance of

this constellation, the Pleiades were

perceived as a rather gloomy constella-

tion, said by Ptolemy to partake of the

nature of the Moon and Mars, notable

mostly for their pernicious influence upon

one’s eyesight.

In India the Pleiades are the lunar mansion

named Krittika. Hindu tradition asserts

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destiny with a powerful, even grand kind

of energy which literally “shines forth” all

around the native:

• A fixed star conjunct the Midheaven

elevates the native in terms of fame or

renown

• A fixed star conjunct the Ascendant

creates an intensely powerful personality

shaped by the nature of the star in

question

• A fixed star conjunct the Sun imprints

its nature upon the individual’s spirit

• A fixed star conjunct the Moon

imprints its nature upon the individual’s

soul.

How shall we establish the nature of each

star, and how does this shape our

astrological interpretation of the stars in a

birth chart?

As noted above, in Hellenistic times fixed

stars were always regarded as embodying

the energies of two different planets; the

significations of the two planets were

merged to create the interpretation. Here

is Anonymous of 379’s description of the

Venus-Mercury stars:

…since each of them is a mixture of

Aphrodite and Hermes…it makes those

so born not only notable, well-off, and

steemed, but also learned, philosophi-

cal, eloquent, creative, knowing, well-

disposed, fond of the arts, clever, artis-

tic, devoted to pleasure, surrounded by

luxury, of good cheer; also sagacious,

intelligent...clear and charming of

speech, beloved and accommodating in

disposition, serious, critical, and high-

minded.5

The interpretation given above is a

perfectly normal description of a Venus-

Mercury conjunction, much as we would

understand it today.

In this article, we shall focus our attention

on a relatively small number of stars. They

are given here in zodiacal order.

Caput Algol (Tropical: 26° Taurus 19’,

Sidereal: 2° Taurus 16’). This star has the

dubious distinction of being called “the

most evil star in the sky.” It takes its name

from the myth of Perseus; this hero was

the slayer of Medusa, the snake-haired

Gorgon whose very gaze turned men to

page 3

LORE OF THE FIXED STARS cont’d from p. 2

please turn to p. 4

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memberletter Editor

that the Pleiades bring passion, inten-

sity, drive, ambition, and a quarrelsome

or contrary temperament into the

native’s life. In the sidereal zodiac, the

Pleiades constitute the precise exalta-

tion point of the Moon, while in Hindu

mythology the god Skanda, ruler of the

planet Mars, is said to have been

nursed by the celestial sisters who are

the Pleiades. Here again one finds an

unexpected link between Hindu and

Hellenistic traditions in the blending of

the Moon and Mars. It is interesting to

note that the Pleiades are perceived as

a group of sisters in both Hindu and

Greek myth.

Aldebaran (Tropical: 9° Gemini 56’,

Sidereal: 15° Taurus 53’) Ptolemy

merely remarks that Aldebaran is of the

nature of Mars. Anonymous of 379 and

another Hellenistic text, the Liber

Hermetis, both list this important star

as being of the nature of Venus and

Mars combined.6 It is said to render its

natives fortunate and wealthy, with a

talent for administration. It lends

courage, eloquence, integrity and

popularity to a horoscope. In keeping

with its Mars-Venus association, the

longitude of Aldebaran is listed by

Anonymous of 379 as being among

those “degrees which cause licentious-

ness.”7 The same author also declares

that those born under its influence are

“hot-headed” when it comes to their

desires, as well as being “versatile in

respect of sexual pleasures.”8

In the Hindu nakshatras, this star is

known as Rohini, the Red Goddess, the

literal “dancing girl” in the sky. In 3000

BCE, her heliacal rising would have

marked the vernal equinox; she is the

goddess in the springtime of her youth.

As in the Hellenistic tradition, the

Hindus recognize Aldebaran as an

indicator of fortune, wealth, and admi-

nistrative talent, and they retain a strong

sense of this star’s erotic power. It is

interesting to note that Sigmund Freud

was born with the Moon close to

Aldebaran, while Marilyn Monroe’s Sun

was almost exactly conjunct this star.

Sirius (Tropical: 14° Cancer 13’,Sidereal 20° Gemini 10’) This star is said

to be a mixture of Mars and Jupiter,

sometimes bringing leadership ability,

eloquence, wealth, and honor, along with

Martian attributes such as energy and a

temperament that is unruly, despotic,

agitated, and prone to act through passion,

high-spirited and willful. Sirius is unique in

the sense that its risings and settings, as

well as its conjunction with planets, were

used for “mundane” or political predic-

tions—a practice that may have to do with

its importance in ancient Egypt, where it

symbolized the goddess Isis in search of

the broken pieces of Osiris (Orion) as well

as being an important marker in the

beginning of the old Egyptian calendar.

As noted in our discussion of important

stars, which lie far from the ecliptic, the

nak-shatra of Ardra was anciently associ-

ated with Sirius (though it is now marked

by Betelgeuse). It is interesting once again

to note that the standard Hindu interpreta-

tion of Ardra upon the Ascendant or

conjunct the Moon is almost an exact

match for the old Hellenistic Sirius: Those

born under Ardra are said to be passionate,

tempestuous, bold, haughty, excessive,

treacherous at worst and filled with vital

energy at best. In the ancient mythology,

Sirius was an incarnation of Shiva in his

destructive aspect as a wild hunter who

chases the World Maker Prajapati (Orion,

associated by the Egyptians with Osiris)

through the night sky and kills him.

Regulus (Tropical: 29° Leo 58’, Sidereal: 5°

Leo 55’). The star Regulus lies at the very

center of the constellation of Leo, and is

often known as the “Heart of the Lion.” Its

name literally means “the star of kings,” and

it is associated with royalty and power—or,

at the very least, with a majestic temperament.

The Greeks regarded Regulus as a mixture of

Mars and Jupiter, and wrote that those who

have this star prominent are esteemed,

commanding, independent, out-spoken,

great-souled and honor-loving, often

wealthy and born leaders of men. There is a

certain amount of Martian contentious-

ness or quarrelsomeness involved. Simil-

arly, the lunar mansion of Magha, marked

primarily by Regulus, is said to produce

natives who are kingly, proud, larger than

life, restless, ambitious, wealthy, arrogant,

and (once again) born leaders. The Hindu

tradition adds that they are more often than

not conservative as leaders (think of Win-

ston Churchill, with his Moon conjunct

Regulus).

Spica (Tropical: 23° Libra 59’, Sidereal 29°

Virgo 56’). Spica has always been

universally regarded as one of the most

auspicious stars in the sky. In late

Egyptian times, the constellation of Virgo

was sometimes perceived as the goddess

Isis, and Spica was the divine child

Horus seated in her lap. But it is also

commonly seen as the sheaf of wheat,

which Persephone, the goddess of Virgo,

holds in her hand. The Hellenistic

astrologers saw Spica as a mixture of

Mercury and Venus; hence its natives

are said to be learned, philosophical,

eloquent, creative, clever, artistic,

pleasure-loving, practical, high-minded

and successful, but sometimes fickle or

promiscuous.

The lunar mansion of Chitra is centered

on the star Spica, and Hindu tradition

asserts that natives of Spica are elegant,

charming, charismatic, sensual, seduc-

tive, creative, clever, and excellent

conversationalists, though with a

tendency to be self-centered or shallow.

page 4

LORE OF THE FIXED STARS cont’d from p. 3

please turn to p. 5

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Frida KahloJuly 6, 19078:30 AM LMTCoyoacan, Mexico19N20, 99W10GeocentricTropicalPorphyryTrue Noce

Antares (Tropical: 9° Sagittarius 54’, Sider-

eal: 15° Scorpio 51’). The star Antares forms

the center of Scorpio, the “heart of the scor-

pion.” A red star, it was regarded by the

Greeks as a mixture of Mars and Jupiter, and

hence it shares many qualities with Regulus:

power, esteem, command, rashness, indep-

endence, blunt speech, wealth and leader-

ship are all said to be characteristic of those

born with Antares prominently placed.

Antares stands directly opposite Aldeba-

ran, and in India was seen as part of a pair

with that star. If Aldebaran was the god-

dess as nymph and dancing girl, Antares,

known in India as Jyeshta, “the eldest

sister,” was the goddess as wisdom crone.

In 3000 BCE Antares would have marked

the autumnal equinox; the goddess turns

toward the second half of life, when the

darkness is longer than the day. The inter-

pretation given to Jyeshta, however, is

similar to that given to Antares by the

Greeks: those with the Moon or Ascendant

in Jyeshta are said to be crafty, subtle,

analytical, wealthy, war-like, adventurous,

and powerful, and at worst turbulent, arro-

gant, egotistical, secretive and combative.

By way of example, we shall examine the

chart of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (see

above), who exemplified fixed star ener-

gies to an unusual degree. Her Sun was

conjunct Sirius and her Moon conjunct

the Pleiades; her Midheaven was close to

Caput Algol and her Ascendant not far

from Regulus.

Born into a middle class Mexican family,

Frida Kahlo showed fire and ambition

early in life. In 1929, she married the fam-

ous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. Their

lives were filled with drama, love affairs

and emotional fireworks. They both lived

for passion and painting. Racked by ill-

ness all her life, she died on July 13, 1954,

with Pluto making a partile conjunction by

transit to her Regulus Ascendant. During

her lifetime, Frida’s charismatic husband

was more famous than she. Now, more

than half a century later, it is Frida Kahlo

who has the more famous reputation. But

then again, Kahlo was deeply marked by

the fixed stars, while Rivera was not.

While a Leo Ascendant might be said to

be strong and proud, the Cancer Sun and

Taurus Moon combination would

generally be perceived as

gentle and loving. Yet

there was little softness

in Frida Kahlo’s tempera-

ment: she was passion-

ate, tempestuous, bold,

haughty, excessive, and

filled with vital energy.

These traits are associ-

ated with the star Sirius,

which was conjunct her

Sun.

Kahlo’s Ascendant was a

few degrees away from

Regulus. These individu-

als are larger than life,

commanding, independent,

outspoken and arrogant,

restless but great-souled

and honor-loving, with a

fair amount of conten-

tiousness or quarrelsome-

ness. Though small in

build and crippled most of her life, Frida

Kahlo was a commanding presence who

impressed—and frequently overpow-

ered—all those who knew her. The French

surrealist Andre Breton called her “a

ribbon around a bomb.”

Kahlo’s Moon, in the Hindu lunar man-

sion of Krittika and conjunct the Pleiades,

simply adds to this over-all picture, for

such an influence was said to bring

“passion, intensity, drive, ambition, and a

quarrelsome or contrary temperament”

into the native’s life.

Since Caput Algol is traditionally associ-

ated with death and disaster of all sorts,

we might be inclined to assume that the

terrible trolley accident, which left Frida

crippled and in pain for the rest of her life

would be marked by a transit or direction

to that point. Instead, it was a transit of

Pluto over Kahlo’s natal Sun—and thus

over Sirius—which marked that tragic

event. Her solar return chart for 1925 (the

accident occurred on September 17th of

that year) shows a close partile conjunc-

tion between Pluto and the Sun together

with a major stellium of planets in the 8th

house.

The usual debates regarding solar re-

turns—birthplace, residence, or location

of the actual return—do not apply here.

Frida was living in her birth place of

Coyoacan at the time of the accident,

which occurred only a few miles away. In

tradi-tional astrology, the 8th house, as

well as being a house of death, is also a

house of tragic accidents and “breaks in

life.”

The fixed star component of Kahlo’s

personal tragedy can easily be ignored—a

deadly accident could be deemed typical

of the worst manifestations of Pluto

transiting the Sun. But as we have seen,

the traditional Greek interpretation for

Sirius matches that of the Hindu mansion

Ardra very precisely. While Ardra is now

linked with Betelgeuse rather than Sirius,

the longitude of the two stars is the same

(13° Cancer). Ardra is “ruled” by the Vedic

deity Rudra. This now obscure god is a

very ancient aspect of Shiva in his

persona of the Universal Destroyer. It is

Rudra who shatters the original harmony

of the cosmos by slaying the World

Maker, Prajapati, symbolized in the sky by

Orion. It was necessary for Prajapati to be

destroyed in order to prevent him from

committing incest with his own daughter

Rohini (Aldebaran). Rudra (Sirius/Pluto)

destroyed the World Maker by piercing

him through the body with an arrow

(Orion’s Belt). And this, in fact, is pre-

cisely what happened to Frida Kahlo. A

metal handrail from the trolley car entered

her body on the left side and exited

page 5

through her vagina. This tragic occurrence

demonstrates the uncanny literalness of

the nakshatras which has been noted by

so many Hindu astrologers.

If we use only the most important stars

and limit the field to a close conjunction

with the luminaries or the cardinal points,

the present day working astrologer may

well find that these heavenly bodies do

not constitute a powerful influence in

every horoscope. In fact, a fixed star

“theme” will probably prove to be quite

rare. But when it is found, it marks a human

life and destiny filled with exceptional

power and symbolic importance.

Birth Data Frida Kahlo. July 6, 1907, 8:30 AM LMT,

Coyoacan, Mexico, 19N20, 99W10. Source.

Birth Certificate. Lois Rodden quotes

Hayden Herrera in her biography Frida,

where she pictures her birth certifi-

cate. From Lois Rodden’s Astrodatabank.

LORE OF THE FIXED STARS cont’d from p. 4 References 1. Anonymous of 379, Trans. by Robert

Schmidt, ed. by Robert Hand, The Treatise

on the Bright Fixed Stars, Berkeley

Springs: Golden Hind Press, 1993.

2. Asko Parpola, Deciphering the Indus

Script, London: Cambridge University

Press, 1996, passim.

3. All references to the nakshatras not

otherwise referenced are from Kenneth

Johnson, Mansions of the Moon: The Lost

Zodiac of the Goddess, Boulder: Archive

Press, 2002. Lest the scholarly reader grow

suspicious. Let it be noted that my own

interpretations of the nakshatras were

written at least two years before I acquired

and became familiar with the Hellenistic

material, hence I had no opportunity to bend

or shape my descriptions of the nakshatras

in such a way as to make them resemble the

Hellenistic fixed star interpretations more

closely.

4. Anonymous of 379, The Treatise on the

Bright Fixed Stars , pp. 1-2.

5. Ibid., p. 4.

6. See Ibid, p. 9, and Liber Hermetis, p. 30.

7. Anonymous of 379, The Treatise on

the Bright Fixed Stars, pp. 9-10.

8. Ibid.

KENNETH JOHNSON holds a B.A. in

Comparative Religions from California

State University Fullerton. He obtained

his M.A. in Eastern Studies (with an em-

phasis in Classical Sanskrit) from St.

John’s College, Santa Fe, New Mexico. A

student of both Western and Vedic astro-

logy, he is the author of numerous maga-

zine articles and books, including the

well-known “Mythic Astrology” series

(with Ariel Guttman) and “Mansions of

the Moon,” a study of the lunar zodiac of

India. Kenneth has spent many months

with indigenous Maya teachers in Guate-

mala; for his writings on the Mayan

Calendar, see www.jaguarwisdom. org;

for his astrological work, visit

www.kennethjohnsonastrology.com.

page 6

Message from the ChairNCGR Board of Directors

Elected Officers John Marchesella, Chair,[email protected] Linda Wilk, Treasurer,[email protected] Joyce Levine, Clerk, 2353 MassachusettsAve., #91, Cambridge MA 02140, 617-354-7075, [email protected]

Elected Directors Judy Johnson, Director, 7807Eleanor Place, Willowbrook IL 60527,[email protected] Mark Wolz, Education Director,[email protected] Leigh Westin, Chapter Affairs Director andSIGs Coordinator, P.O. Box 207, Waskom TX75692, [email protected] Nina Gryphon, Membership Director,[email protected]

Appointed Directors Kyle Ukes, Media and CommunicationsDirector, [email protected] Christeen Skinner, Advisory Board Chair,[email protected] Trish Buckley, Publications Director,[email protected] Jagdish Maheshri, Research Director,[email protected]

Staff Liane Thomas Wade, Secretary, NCGRHeadquarters, 531 Main St., #1612, NewYork NY 10044, Ph-Fax, 212-838-NCGR(6247), [email protected] Ronnie Gale Dreyer, memberletter Editor,[email protected] Ken Irving, Webmaster,[email protected] Arlene Nimark, Advertising Manager, 1242East 8th Street, Brooklyn NY 11230, 718-377-0482, [email protected]

Advisory BoardBernadette Brady Ph.D. (UK), Nicholas Campion

Ph.D. (UK), Gary Christen, Bradley V. Clark

C.P.A., David Cochrane, Priscilla Costello M.A.

(Canada), Adrian Duncan (Denmark), Michael

Erlewine, Mónica Escalante-Ochoa (Mexico),

Madela Ezcurra, Linda Fei, Steven Forrest, Irene

E. Goodale, Robert Hand M.A., Charles Hannan,

Madalyn Hillis-Dineen, Baris Ilhan (Turkey), War-

ren Kinsman (Costa Rica), Babs Kirby M.A. (UK),

Arlene A. Kramer, Alphee Lavoie, Michael Lutin,

Vivian B. Martin Ph.D., Michael Munkasey, Arlene

Nimark, Ingrid Petroff (Austria), Bill Sarubbi (Aus-

tria), Maria Kay Simms, Gloria Star, Rod Suskin

(South Africa), Richard Tarnas Ph.D., Donna Van

Toen (Canada).

Dear Members,

please turn to p. 7

Visit us at www.geocosmic.org, on Facebook (NCGR2013), and on Twitter (Twitter@geoalchemy).

Could be...

Who knows?...

There’s something due any day—I will know right away,Soon as it shows.It may come cannonballing down through the sky,Gleam in its eye,Bright as a rose.Who knows?

“Something’s Coming” from West Side StoryMusic by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

Tony might have been singing with excited expectation about meeting Maria atthe dance in West Side Story, but we can sing with the same sentiment about

Everything under the Sun: The Art of Astrology, Philadelphia, August 15-19,2013!

Registration is strong. Anticipation is high. And the buzz is, well, abuzz! Weopened a new block of hotel guest rooms to accommodate our growingregistration, so there’s plenty of room for all now. Remember it’s the DoubleTreeby Hilton Hotel in the center of it all in Philly. You can register for the conferenceand hotel reservations at our conference website, www.ncgr2013.com.

As for the banquet, pre-registration is a must! Tickets for the dinner with MichaelLutin will NOT be offered on site during the conference weekend. Why? Becausethe hotel needs notice on how many dinners to prepare and how many seats toset up. So, if you did not sign up for the SuperSaver Package or did not add thebanquet a la carte to your cart while registering at one of the other rates, please goto the conference website ASAP and sign on for $65 for good eats, good fun, andgood learning with Michael.

Over 50 speakers! Dozens of topics! Various levels for all! There’ll be somethingfor everyone, honoring our many “astrologees.” And that’s just the conferenceweekend! Then, there are the optional pre- and post conference workshops andseminars! The pre-conference seminars on Thursday, August 15 are “Astro-Trading” with Christeen Skinner, “Navigating our Lives through OuterPlanetary Transits” with Wendy Stacey, and “Rectification Techniques” withGene Shaw.

Also on August 15 are the pre-conference workshops: “A Technology Toolbag forToday’s Astrologer” with Demetrius Bagley, our Research Symposium led byNCGR’s Research Director, Jagdish Maheshri, AYA’s “Four for the Future: AForum with Rebecca Crane, Eric Pride, Dr. Jenn Zahrt and Wonder Bright,” andNCGR-PAA’s “Giving Voice to Life Transitions: Demonstrating the Art andTechniques of Astrological Consulting” with Meira Epstein, Claudia Bader, andJudi Vitale.

The post-conference seminars on Monday, August 19 are “Timing Peak Periods ina Person’s Love Life” with Chris Brennan, and “12 Steps to Better ChartReadings: Improving your Client Consultations” with Rick Levine.

page 7

John Marchesella NCGR Chair

In Touch With Mars: How toRespond to a Challenge from Saturn

please turn to p. 8

by Mark Wolz

THE CHAKRA SYSTEM DESCRIBES the

flow of subtle energies through

body, mind, and spirit. The seven

major chakras are vortices of vital life force

that are visualized as wheels of light aligned

along the spine from the sacrum to the

crown of the head. In this article we will foc-

us on the third chakra, which is associated

with Mars, and consider how it can be

affected by Saturn.

Envision a glowing, golden-yellow light

infusing the area of your solar plexus. Feel

a deep, full breath moving in and out of

your belly. Think of drive and desire,

impulse and action, determination and

vitality, the power of the will. Remember,

for a moment, an experience that you

initiated from a gut instinct. Sit quietly,

feel the movement of your diaphragm as it

is drawn up and drawn down, and abide

with the qualities that are symbolized by

the planet Mars.

Think of a flame and enthusiasm; unrelen-

ting effort; the instinct to survive; the

voice that is projected from the belly; the

fire of digestion; adrenaline, insulin and

gall; the sting of the scorpion. Bring to

mind your natal chart.

The condition of Mars in your chart

indicates how the qualities we assign to

Mars are integrated into your life. Pause in

your reading and answer these questions:

Where is your Mars by sign and house?

What aspects does it form with other

planets? Which houses are covered by

Aries and Scorpio? Let your chart

represent the whole of your energy and

sense in the chart—as though seeking

heat—where Mars resides and how its

energy radiates to other areas of the chart.

Say “Manipura” as you envision lustrous

gems, a city of jewels. Manipura is the

name for the third chakra, or energy

center, in the body. The third chakra is

located at the solar plexus, between the

navel and the lower ribs. Its correspond-

ence in symbolic meaning to the planet

Mars offers us a way to link our aware-

ness of Mars and its qualities with the

actions we take to express those qualities.

Becoming aware of the energy percolating

in the Manipura chakra awakens us to

whatever lessons of the will we are ready

to take on, whether they are the lifelong

themes of the natal chart or temporary

ones indicated by progressions and

transits. Keeping the focus on Mars and

the third chakra, let’s look at the effects

that an aspect by Saturn can have—

whether it’s in a natal chart or by transit.

Saturn squaring Mars. A need to know

that one’s efforts to express the will are

likely to meet with disapproval. If that’s

taken in as a blockage in the third chakra,

it can lead to ulcers, inflamed gall bladder,

misfiring adrenal glands, malfunctioning

pancreas, intestinal disorders. To set

things right we can bring breath to the

belly and release the butterflies from our

tummy; develop tone in the abdomen;

consult the vision we have through the

hara, or abdominal core. By the Law of

Correspondence, resentments will drop

away; we will discover the compromise we

need to make; our fear of reprisal as well

as our urge to react will dissipate; we will

take action from a position of balance,

with the weight of the torso well centered.

Saturn opposing Mars. A need to learn to

balance one’s willfulness with respon-

sibility for actions taken. If we experience

these lessons as unfair limitations, we can

find our intentions misinterpreted and our

actions either inhibited or ridiculed. Through

the third chakra the breath can be restricted

and the digestive fire extinguished; the

pancreas can become overactive or under-

active; the liver can be sluggish; the adrenal

reactions may turn hypersensitive. To cor-

rect these conditions, and at the same time

increase our confidence, we can balance our

diet; incorporate breath with movement;

strengthen the lift in our legs and practice

spinal twists; move with balance and poise

from the center of our being.

Saturn conjunct Mars. One must align the

will with discipline. Dysfunctions can

show up as labored movement of the

diaphragm, paralyzed digestion, sour

tummy, overactive liver, underactive

pancreas, overactive adrenals. When

willful becomes willing we move ahead;

the breath is steady and strong; we are

attracted to all the right food to eat and

none of the wrong things; the source of

our energy is fully charged.

Saturn in sextile or trine to Mars. The

will is rooted in a steady source of

power—on a good day one has all the

strength that is needed to exert the will

and can feel the world work with it; on a

bad day this person won’t do much at all

and good things will happen anyway. The

third chakra can become flabby and then,

despite the benefits in these aspects, we

may actually be belligerent when things

don’t materialize just as we want them. We

may enjoy vitality and strength in the

digestive organs, or we could fail to

exercise them by our own initiative and

suffer from gradual accumulation of sludge.

CHAIR MESSAGE cont’d from p. 6

Dancing on Saturday night, anastrological walking tour of the city onSunday afternoon, a great trade showall weekend long, and multiple FreeSpeech lectures (which, by the way, arenot free for non-attendees, but ratherthey are brief presentations that arevery free in their thinking).

And then, there’s the real star of theshow….the city of brotherly love!Historical Philly, art Philly, foodiePhilly. Astrology or no astrology,what’s not to enjoy in Philadelphia!

See you there….or be square!

page 8

IN TOUCH WITH MARS cont’d from p. 7

The phenomena associated with chakra

energy occur at a different level of exper-

ience than the conditions that are des-

cribed by medical science; they flow

through the matrix of subtle energy that ani-

mates our existence in body, mind and spirit.

We are sensitive to the lessons of Mars as

we experience its stream of will and initiative

through all our thoughts and actions.

Whatever aspects between Saturn and

Mars are in effect, the positive lessons in-

volve discipline, courage, and focused

and sustained strength. Working with the

third chakra, we can use the breath, post-

ure and movement, along with sound vibra-

tion, visualization and affirmations to ener-

gize and balance the third chakra. That’s in-

stead of saying, “Uh-oh, what will happen

to me when Saturn hits my Mars?” It’s a

proactive approach that will capture Saturn’s

contribution to life as we live it. When we

are looking at a Saturn-Mars contact, the dy-

namic described by the aspect between

them can show up in the third chakra, be-

cause it’s ruled by Mars, or in the first

chakra, which is ruled by Saturn. Establish-

ing harmony between these two chakras will

help balance the flow of energy that is chal-

lenged. Tuning into the chakras makes us con-

scious of the subtle flow of energies within us

and the lessons of the planets around us. A

proactive response when Saturn looms in

the sky we are feeling will accomplish

exactly what Saturn is asking of us: to build

strength and develop responsibility.

The third chakra is also associated with

Aries and Scorpio, along with Capricorn,

the Sun, and Leo, and we can bring in

helpful influences through these channels

when we’re feeling a challenge to Mars.

For example, a well-aspected Sun can

shine the light of self-confidence on a

struggling Mars, empowering the third

chakra and supporting our intention as we

take an action. We may find other links to

Mars energy in the birth chart that can

help balance our overall system and give

positive expression to the will. When, for

example, we see Saturn squaring a Mars in

Taurus or Libra, we can bolster the third

chakra with energy from the fourth chakra,

ruled by Venus—all the more so if that

Venus is strongly placed in Libra, Taurus or

Pisces, or even located in Aries or Scorpio,

where it is in mutual reception with Mars.

The symbols of astrology that point to

our lessons in life are reflected in the

chakra system in a way that allows us to

access their dynamics on a physical, men-

tal and energetic level. Mars can be found

within us as much as it is seen in the

heavens. Becoming sensitive to the subtle

energy system and balancing its flow helps

us deal with challenges as they come along,

and Manipura chakra allows us to be con-

sciously in touch with the energy of Mars.

MARK WOLZ practices and teaches astro-

logy in New York City. He is certified by

NCGR and is a member of the NCGR Board

of Directors. Mark also teaches yoga and

practices therapeutic yoga. He holds a B.S.

in psychology and an M.A. in anthropology

and Southeast Asian studies. Mark can be

reached at [email protected].

His website is DharmaRising.com. Mark is

a featured speaker at NCGR2013.

page 9

THE FIRST CHILD OF PRINCE WILLIAM

and Catherine, Duchess of Cam-

bridge, is due in July 2013. Her pregnancy

was revealed sooner than the royals had

hoped as Catherine needed to be hospital-

ized in early December 2012 for severe

morning sickness.This was when the

“baby secret” was revealed. This revela-

tion was in part due to the effects of the

total solar eclipse on November 13, 2012

at 21° Scorpio 56’ (see right). Eclipses in

general often cause secrets to be revealed

and things to be brought out in the open.

The royal family’s baby secret was one of

those events that was precipitated by this

particlar eclipse. That secret and a few

others that were “revealed” are the

subject of this article.

When transiting Mercury hit the eclipse

point of 21° Scorpio 56’ on December 3,

2012—Catherine’s pregnancy was

revealed to the press and the rest of the

royal family. It was said that even the

Queen knew nothing about it until this

day. Eclipses reveal secrets. Scorpio

loves to keep secrets but this eclipse

caused many hidden stories to explode on

the newswire.

Prince William and Catherine Middleton

married on April 28, 2011 at 11:20 AM BST

in London, England (see right). In the

wedding chart, the cusp of the 5th house

of children is 22° Scorpio 30’, less than a

degree from the November 13 eclipse. The

New Moon on February 10, 2013 at 21°

Aquarius 43’ squared the eclipse point

and the 5th house cusp of the wedding

chart, all while the transiting Nodes hit the

total solar eclipse point at 21° Scorpio.

A couple of days after the New Moon,

pictures revealing Catherine’s baby bump,

while she was on holiday with William on

the Caribbean island of Mustique, were

published in Italian Chi Magazine. This

wasn’t the first scandal for the royal

pregnancy. In early December when

Catherine was hospitalized with severe

morning sickness, a nurse transferred a

call from two prankster disc jockeys from

Australia who impersonated Prince

Solar Eclipse Revelations by Liz Houle

Wedding ofWilliam and KateApril 29, 201111:20 AM BSTLondon UK51N30, 00W10Geocentric, TropicalPlacidusMean Nodes

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Total Solar EclipseNovember 13, 201210:12 PM UTLondon UK51N30, 00W10Geocentric, TropicalPlacidus, Mean Nodes

Charles and the Queen.

Another nurse fell for

their ruse and revealed

personal information

about Catherine’s medi-

cal condition. This led

to a worldwide scandal,

and soon after the nurse

who transferred the call

committed suicide on

December 7, 2012. Most of

the international media

pointed the finger at the

Australian radio hosts who

were subsequently vilified for

the nurse’s untimely demise.

Scorpio rules over death and

transformation so it is no

wonder that a 5th house with

this sign would produce such

events along with the secrecy

surrounding Prince William’s

and Catherine’s children.

Hospital protocol and

telephone communica-

tions will no doubt be

handled very differently

when the royal baby

arrives this summer!

This total solar eclipse

at 21° Scorpio 56’ has

revealed a large number

of secrets and brought

scandals out in the open.

On August 22, 2012, pictures

of Prince Harry cavorting with

a bevy of beauties at the Wynn

Hotel in Las Vegas were published.

Prince Harry’s natal Moon at 21° Taurus

20’ exactly opposed the upcoming

November 13, 2012 eclipse.

Prince Charles has also been affected by

these scandals. Since he was born

November 14, 1946, 9:14 PM UT, London,

UK, his Sun at 22° Scorpio 25’ is conjunct

the eclipse, and his Ascendant at 5° Leo

24’ is practically the same as the Ascen-

dant of the wedding chart. No doubt

Prince Charles helped push them to get

married and the total solar eclipse at 21°

Scorpio 56´ hits Prince Charles’ 5th house

of children as well as the 5th house of the

wedding chart since they both have 22°

Scorpio on the 5th house cusp!

The total solar eclipse at 21° Scorpio 56´

occurred on November 13, 2012. The

following day it was reported in the news

that actress and comedienne Janeane

Garofalo was shocked to discover that she

had been legally married for the past 20

page 10

ECLIPSE REVELATIONS cont’d from p. 9

years! A joke wedding with her boyfriend

in a Las Vegas chapel turned out to be a

legitimate marriage, which neither of them

realized when they went their separate

ways. His lawyer discovered the Vegas

nuptials 20 years later when Garofalo’s

“husband” planned on getting married.

“We got married drunk in Vegas...We

dated for a year, and we got married at

a drive-through chapel in a cab. [We

thought] you have to go down to the

courthouse and sign papers and stuff,

so who knew? We were married, and

apparently now that [Rob] is getting

married for real, his lawyer dug up

something,” Garofalo said. The couple

got a quick divorce Saturday in New

York, with the split notarized at a mid-

town bank. (abcnews.go.com/blogs/en-

tertainment/2012/11/janeane-garofalo-

unwittingly-married-for-20-years)

Garofalo’s 7th house ruler, Venus, is at 22°

Leo, square the solar eclipse which

landed in her house of matrimony.

Hillary Clinton, whose Mercury at 22°

Scorpio is less than a degree of this 21°

Scorpio 56’ eclipse, announced her plans

to retire and handed in her resignation in

November 2012, the month of the actual

eclipse. In December, the very next month

she suffered a blood clot to the brain

resulting from an earlier concussion when

she had passed out after becoming ill

from a virus. She tried to keep this secret

but it was soon revealed in the news that

she had been treated and released from a

New York Hospital.

Although there are two times for her birth

that have been used, if we use her date

and time of birth as October 26, 1947, 8:00

AM CST, Chicago IL, then her Ascendant

would be 21° Scorpio 44’, which, along with

natal Mercury, conjoin the eclipse degree.

On the day she fell and hit her head,

December 9, 2012, transiting Venus

conjoined the eclipse point at 21° Scorpio

along with her Ascendant and Mercury.

Venus rules her house of illness and

Mercury rules her house of death, so this

was a near-fatal experience for Hillary

Clinton. Lucky for her, she has Jupiter in

Sagittarius in her 1st house, which helps

her bounce back from injuries.

On Friday, January 11, 2013, the same day

as the New Moon at 21° Capricorn 46’, the

first official portrait of Catherine, Duchess

of Cambridge was revealed. She was born

on January 9, 1982, with her Sun at 18°

Capricorn and natal nodes at 22° Capri-

corn and Cancer, both hit by this New

Moon, which also formed a sextile and

trine to the eclipse point of 21°Scorpio. As

a result, her portrait was slammed by

critics all over the news.

Less than a week later, in a show of

solidarity, Queen Elizabeth released an old

portrait of herself made for her coronation

in 1953. This painting of her had been

hidden away for 60 years on storage as it

was considered a poor likeness of her

majesty.

Prince Harry caused another scandal in

the news when transiting Mars at 21°

Aquarius squared the eclipse point on

Tuesday, January 22, 2013. It was revealed

that Prince Harry exposed a bit too much

information in an interview concerning his

military service in Afghanistan:

Police may have to upgrade Prince

Harry’s security after his candid admis-

sion that he has killed enemy fighters in

Afghanistan, it emerged last night. Scot-

land Yard chiefs are reviewing their pro-

tection for the 28-year-old Apache at-

tack helicopter pilot who said soldiers

sometimes had to ‘take a life to save a

life’...Dai Davies, former head of the

Met’s Royalty Protection Squad, said:

‘Purely from a protection point of view,

I think it was highly unadvisable for

Prince Harry to draw attention to him-

self. (www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-

2266382/Fresh-security-fears-Prince-

Harry-I-killed-Taliban-interview.html)

On February 7, 2013, the North Node tran-

sited the eclipse point at 21° Scorpio 56’, and

squared the New Moon, which occurred on

February 10, 2013 at 22° Aquarius. The day

after the New Moon, on February 11, 2013,

Pope Benedict XVI announced his retire-

ment. This is the first time in 600 years that a

Pope has retired. This announcement has

created controversy with prominent church

members opposing it while conspiracy

theories run rampant. (This followed soon

after the bad omen of a seagull attacking the

Dove of Peace released by the Pope on

January 27, 2013.)

Steve Martin, the 67 year-old comedian,

whose Sun is positioned at 21° Leo,

exactly square the eclipse, had his first

child and kept it hidden from the press for

three months before it was revealed on

February 1, 2013.

The ‘It's Complicated’ actor and his wife

Anne Stringfield, 41, are believed to have

welcomed a baby into their lives back

in December. Although the fiercely-pri-

vate couple had managed to keep their

happy news a secret until now, they were

recently spotted doting on their child

near their Los Angeles home. A source

told the New York Post newspaper:

'They've had a baby, and how they kept

it a secret nobody knows.

(www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar-

ticle-2277922/Steve-Martin-father-

time-age-67.html)

As we go to press in early June, there is

still secrecy about the birthdate of William

and Catherine’s royal baby, though the

official word is that the baby is due

sometime in July. If we look at the wedding

chart, we note that Uranus will be transit-

ing the Midheaven throughout July, and,

if we use the chart’s secondary progres-

sions, we note that the secondary

progressed Moon and Mars will be

conjunct in July. The Moon rules over

mothers and Mars rules the 5th house of

children. Whenever the blessed event

occurs, it will also be ineresting to see if

the baby’s chart resonates with one of the

2012 or 2013 eclipses. We will have to wait

and see what the month of July reveals.

LIZ HOULE, B.A., NCGR-PAA, Level III, has

been an astrologer for over 20 years, prac-

tices Eastern and Western Astrology, and is

an NCGR member. Her articles have ap-

peared in memberletter, Geocosmic Jour-

nal, Horoscope Guide, and currently writes

for examiner. com. A certified web devel-

oper since 1999, Liz builds and maintains

astrology-related websites including

Astrologers’ Memorial (solsticepoint. com/

astrologersmemorial) and Continuum

(continuumacg.net/index.html). She specia-

lizes in traditional Horary Astrology and

provides readings in Western and Vedic

Astrology as well as specialty reports for

specific areas of life (love, finance, career,

pregnancy, etc.). You can contact her

through www.lizhoule-astrologer.com and

email her at [email protected].

page 11

page 12

The Zodiac Question

From the time of Alan Leo and

Charles Carter, tropical astrologers

have noted distinct energies of signs.

These energies, though perhaps always

present, were not noted in classical

literature. We can say that these observa-

tions are perhaps a development of human

perception based on the evolution of

consciousness in contemporary times.

Sadly, however, a few genuine qualities of

the signs have become greatly expanded,

and are often based on untested theory

rather than observation.

There also seems to be a general belief

among astrologers that whatever traits

signs of the zodiac might have are similar

in the tropical and sidereal zodiac. Thus, if

tropical Aries is forthright, impatient, and

aggressive, then sidereal Aries must

manifest the same traits. I must agree with

Mr. Spock in this one: “Captain, that is not

logical.” If this were true, it seems we’d

have to shift the physical nature of the

sky depending on which astrologer

(tropical or sidereal) happened to be

reading our astrological chart.

There is only one ecliptic, the projection

of the earth’s orbit around the Sun, or the

yearly path of the Sun through the

constellations as seen from the earth.

Whatever influences may come from the

individual stars in the background of

constellations won’t shift depending on

the zodiacal preference of the astrologer.

(The star based lunar mansions do show

through in tropical signs.) Likewise

whatever influence may belong to a single

degree of the zodiac or a particular

segment of the ecliptic (sign, harmonic

pattern, etc.) can’t change depending on

the zodiac an astrologer happens to be

using—unless a zodiac doesn’t exist at all

except in the mind of the astrologer.

It’s one thing to have a mental picture of

two separate and disconnected zodiacs,

but quite another to picture the zodiacs

together as they lie along the ecliptic. To

make this more clear, a diagram of the two

Ancient Triplicities: Key to the Sidereal Zodiacby Therese Hamilton

zodiacs is pictured to the right. We can

see the relationship between the two,

and can mentally project the

constellations as a background

for these zodiacs. Then we

can ask ourselves

if it’s logical that two

signs almost totally

out of alignment

with each other

(as, for example,

tropical and sidereal

Aries) can express in

precisely identical

ways in birth charts.

Ancient TriplicitiesSigns in the sidereal zodiac

have never been defined

in the rather elaborate way that the

tropical signs have been in modern

astrology. A system of

triplicities (fire, earth, air, and water) has

been observed in the tropical zodiac

which cannot be applied verbatim to

sidereal signs. We can, however, use the

astrological history of triplicity lords as a

tool to define the nature of sidereal signs.

The four triplicities, dividing the zodiac

into four triangles, originated in

Mesopotamia. These triangles, groups of

signs whose celestial longitude differed

by 120 degrees, were associated with the

four winds.

In the Greek world these triangles first

appeared in Dorotheus (presumed 1st

Century CE), an early compiler of Hellen-

istic astrological doctrine. Dorotheus as-

signed two planetary lords to the four

triangles, and one cooperating lord. We

have no information on the origin of these

assigned planets, but in western astrology

they were carried through the medieval

and Renaissance periods to the English

period in the 18th and 19th centuries. Only

in modern practice have they disappeared.

Dorotheus writes:

I tell you that everything that is decided

or indicated is from the lords of the tri-

plicities, and as for everything of afflic-

tions or distress which reaches the

people of the world and the totality of

man, the lords of the triplicities decide

it...1

Given such power in the earliest days of

the zodiac, it seems that the lords of the

triangles should have an observed

expression in signs of the zodiac. These

trigon lords do seem to bestow percep-

tible energies on the signs, which can

manifest either in the life activities of a

person or as a general psychological tonal

quality to the personality.

In addition to triplicity lords, Vettius

Valens (2nd century CE) was the first

astrologer to connect elements to the

triangles. But in western astrology these

have been changed from the Stoic

elements where each element had only

one quality (hot, cold, wet, dry) to

Aristotle’s system, which gives a mix of

two qualities to each element. This system

is entrenched in western tropical astrol-

ogy, but there is now a serious question

please turn to p. 13

page 13

ANCIENT TRIPLICITIES cont’d from p. 12

as to whether this element assignment

may be in error. In his commentary on

Book 1 of Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos, Rob

Hand writes:

The text does appear to be saying that

Hot = Masculine, Wet = Feminine, Dry

= Masculine, Cold = Feminine. If

Ptolemy is completely in accord with

standard Aristotelianism in which Hot

and Cold are both active whereas Wet

and Dry are both passive, then Ptolemy

here classifies Hot = Active & Mascu-

line, Cold = Active & Feminine, Wet =

Passive & Feminine and Dry = Passive

and Masculine. If this analysis is cor-

rect it has all manner of interesting sym-

bolic consequences for astrology.2

Taking a hint from Rob Hand’s commen-

tary, a workable sidereal perspective links

Aristotle’s basic four qualities to the tripli-

cities. However, Aristotle’s four qualities

of hot, cold, wet, and dry have nothing to

do with weather, temperature or seasons.

They are psychological in nature.

Aristotle’s Basic Philosophical

PrinciplesIn order to understand the four basic

qualities as applied to sidereal signs, we

first have to define their components

according to Aristotle:

Male and Female. Reflecting the society in

which he lived, Aristotle elevated the

rational over the passionate or emotional.

Aristotle observed the female to be softer

in character, more easily moved to tears,

more compassionate, but also more

jealous and quarrelsome. (That is, the

female displays emotion!) Aristotle

respected the male characteristics of

courage and rationality over “inferior”

emotional traits.

Active and Passive. Aristotle’s Active and

Passive don’t resemble our contemporary

astrological understanding of those terms.

Instead, they are related to functions of

intellect. One understanding is that the

active intellect relates to a fixed and stable

set of concepts, a link to a universal

mainframe (hard drive), so to speak. A

modern commentary states:

“The active intellect...is more properly

called the Agent Intellect, as it is the

force...causing thoughts to pass from the

potential to the actual.” (Absolute

Astronomy.com)

We might call this the inner creative

energy that manifests especially in the

arts or in functions such as entrepreneur-

ship, the inward motivation to produce

something original and significant over

which one has personal control. This is

basically a solar function, the Sun being

the power and light center of the solar

system.

Aristotle’s Passive is external to the

active, and is related more to the outer

world. (Thus, the usual astrological under-

standing of “active” is what Aristotle

might term passive!) Aristotle’s passive

has been said to relate to matter or the

world of forms. The passive intellect

would represent computer data files, but

not the hard drive itself. This function can

be related to the Moon, which collects

and reflects light from the Sun.

In our human world this would be the

sociability factor where we reach out and

link with others, asking opinions, joining

energies to produce the finished product.

This is the energy needed in team sports

where cooperation is essential, committee

meetings, conformity to a church or other

organization, the helpful secretary, even

the person who frequents the lecture

circuit sharing concepts with an audience

and soliciting response. This is the type

of energy that is called “active” in western

astrological systems. This is an important

distinction because it solves the apparent

tropical-sidereal contradiction of signs

which tend either to extroversion or

introversion. For example a sign with a

primary inward focus is called Active in

Aristotle’s philosophy (the mainframe),

but passive (feminine) in the western

astrological system.

Wet and Dry. Aristotle’s Dry is said to be

algebraic, object oriented, solid, rigid,

clear, enhancing distinctions; we can re-

late these qualities to the rational mind as

separate from emotional reaction. Aris-

totle’s Wet is spatial, geometric, liquid,

able to assume the shape of the container,

fluid, formless, ambiguous, blurring dist-

inctions, “irrational” according to Aris-

totle. Thus, related to what can be under-

stood as feminine or emotional

psychology with instant responses to the

moment.

Characteristics of the Sidereal

Triplicities: Aristotle’s Qualities

and Planetary LordsNow that a foundation has been intro-

duced for the four qualities, these quali-

ties can be correlated to the four triplici-

ties of the sidereal zodiac. Robert Schmidt

has noted that an entire trigon shared a

similar energy or mode of being. This

energy is partly reflected in the natures of

the rulers of each triplicity.

The planetary notes below are taken from

Benjamin Dykes’ Introductions to

Traditional Astrology, Book 5: Planetary

Natures.3 These traits are a fair summary

of the characteristics associated with

planets from early Hellenistic to medieval

times.

The brief notes on temperament below are

taken from Dr. Elizabeth G. Melillo’s essay,

“The Four Classic Temperaments and

Spirituality.”4 Example charts are taken

from Lois Rodden’s AstroDatabank. Chart

data is provided at the end of this article,

and is calculated according to the sidereal

zodiac (Lahiri or Krishnamurti ayanamsa).

• Aries, Leo, Sagittarius (sky area of

tropical earth signs)

Labeled HOT and composed of:

Active orientation: motivation and

creative energy drawn from within (the

psychological mainframe)

Masculine type: mental orientation, use

of the mind

Triplicity lords:

Sun by day (Solar symbolism from Dykes:

light, splendor, reason and intellect,

strength, victory, lofty mind, wisdom,

supremacy of first place, power, forceful-

ness)

Jupiter by night (regal, powerful,

generous, happy, humorous, firmness,

wisdom, patience, hope, joy, sharpness of

mind, boldness, esteem from others)

Suggested temperament is Phlegmatic.

Melillo: Purely cognitive, lack of passion

and emotional involvement, stable

influence on others, detached, can be

intellectually gifted.

please turn to p. 14

page 14

This trigon is the Royal trigon since its

lords are the Sun and Jupiter. The promise

of attainment is greatest here, though

generally it’s helpful to have some

choleric sign influence for added passion.

This trigon, though often quiet and

unassuming, is determined to do things

well, putting all its energy into accom-

plishing a goal. Emotional worries and

hesitancy aren’t part of the equation. The

domicile lord of Aries, Mars, isn’t a lord of

this trigon because Mars belongs to the

ancient nocturnal group of planets. Its

excitable nature is more suitable to the

choleric trigon which includes Scorpio, its

nocturnal domicile.

Example chart: William Harrah (Sun,

Mercury in Leo, Moon in Sagittarius)

Gambling czar who founded Harrah’s

casinos. Harrah always aimed for the

biggest and best, but in person is a shy

and soft spoken perfectionist. (Note these

are traits given to tropical Virgo, but align

with the character of the Hot sidereal

trigon.)

• Gemini, Libra, Aquarius (sky area of

tropical water signs) are opposite the Hot

signs:

Labeled COLD and composed of:

Active orientation: motivation and

creative energy drawn from within

Feminine type: emotional or intuitive

processes

Triplicity lords:

Saturn by day (cold, melancholic,

solitary, fearful, sorrowful)

Mercury by night (of a nature open to all

planets and the signs; Mercury bends

with his nature toward the one who is

complected to him; rhetoric and elo-

quence, sweetness of speech, scarcity of

joy, inclination to piety, mercy and calm;

infirmities of the soul, disquiet of the

mind)

Suggested temperament is Melancholic.

Melillo: Idealistic, lofty concepts, dedi-

cated, cautious, slow, deep feelings, prone

to despair or disillusionment

Example chart: Woody Allen. As a

nocturnal birth, Allen’s chart is dominated

by the Saturn-Moon conjunction in

Aquarius on either side of cusp seven.

Allen is an anhedoic, one who is

psychologically unable to enjoy himself.

At times his life has been dominated by

fear and anxiety including fear of the dark

and death. Allen’s disposition is at odds

with his life as a comedienne which is

shown by Sun, Jupiter and Mercury on

the IC in choleric sidereal Scorpio (tropical

Sagittarius). Allen also has a five planet

stellium including the Moon in the 9th

harmonic chart (navamsa) in Libra, another

sign of this trigon. (The so-called 9ths

appear in western texts through the Arabic

era, but there is no description of how they

might have been used.)

These two sign types (Hot and Cold) are

somewhat distinct from the general male-

odd, female-even sign polarities. In

particular the Gemini trigon requires an

explanation. Though these signs are

grouped with the other three odd num-

bered signs which are termed masculine,

they have a strong feminine component.

This was recognized in antiquity where

Valens refers to these signs as “feminiz-

ing” (Riley translation), “effeminate”

(Schmidt translation) or “womanish”

(Gehrz translation). So this trigon shares

the Active quality (inward focus) with

Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, but the nature

is toward feminine psychology.

• Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn (sky area of

tropical air signs)

Labeled DRY and composed of:

Passive orientation: social and network-

ing motivation; outward focus

Masculine type: mental orientation, use

of the mind.

Triplicity lords:

Moon by night (desires joy and beauty

and being praised; adjusts her nature to

others, cheerful to people, flattered by

them, forgetful

Venus by day (amiable toward friends,

love of singing and amusements, love of

children and people, dutiful, gracious,

generous)

Because this trigon includes Virgo, the

domicile and exaltation of Mercury,

Dorotheus gave Mercury a share in this

trigon. The Mercury influence often

manifests in these signs as communica-

tion ability.

Suggested temperament is Sanguine.

Melillo: Extraverted, happy go lucky,

general amiability, comfortable and secure

in a group, adaptable, likes to be accepted,

insensitive to the effect they have on

others.

Example charts:

Shari Lewis, American puppeteer,

magician, singer; Jupiter, Ascendant,

Moon in Virgo; Sun, Saturn in Capricorn;

Extraordinary talent and generosity of

spirit...bringing laughter, knowledge and

joy to the hearts of children and adults

alike

Anthea Turner, British entertainer;

Venus, MC, Moon, Sun in Taurus.

Admired for her fresh and infections

sunny nature

• Cancer Scorpio, Pisces (sky area of

tropical fire signs) are opposite the Dry

signs:

Labeled WET and composed of:

Passive orientation: social and network-

ing motivation; outward focus

Feminine type: focus through emotions,

response through feelings

Triplicity lords:

Mars by night (primary influence)

(choleric, abrupt, courageous, tendency to

anger, quickness [spontaneous], lack of

self control, instability)

Venus by day (amiable toward friends,

love of singing and amusements, love of

children and people, dutiful, gracious,

generous)

Suggested temperament is Choleric.

Melillo: Full of zeal, passionate, prone to

upset, intense emotional expression, likes

to achieve, activists, can be passionate for

a cause (“God and country”) Trusts in

divine providence (faith)

Example chart: Maria Callas, opera diva;

Ascendant, Jupiter, Sun, Mercury in

Scorpio; Noted for her volcanic temper

and explosive temperament; famous for

endless cancellations and walkouts (Note:

Mars, primary lord of this choleric tripli-

city, doesn’t aspect this Scorpio stellium,

and is actually conjunct Saturn in Libra.)

If we take some time to consider the

characteristics of Aristotle’s four qualities

and compare them to triplicity lords, there

is generally a noticeable harmony between

the two sets of traits. These can also be please turn to p. 15

ANCIENT TRIPLICITIES cont’d from p. 13

page 15

ANCIENT TRIPLICITIES cont’d from p. 14

generally related to the four basic tem-

peraments as described by Dr. Melillo and

others.

Whereas the tropical triplicities have come

to be associated with the general “mood”

or “energy” of their element labels, the

sidereal signs remain affiliated with the

nature of the original planetary triplicity

lords as well as Aristotle’s philosophical

conditions.

The result in our current times is that the

overlap of the tropical and sidereal signs

produces a general harmony of sign

characteristics if not identical sign labels.

However, up to the present sidereal

astrologers (whether western or practitio-

ners of India’s astrology) haven’t gener-

ally understood the true character of their

signs, and have mistakenly copied tropical

traits to their own zodiac.

This error doesn’t include Cyril Fagan, the

founder of modern western sidereal

astrology. Fagan claimed that tropical

astrologers were simply observing

sidereal sign traits. Fagan himself never

accepted the tropical zodiac as a valid

entity.5

In summary, as the sidereal zodiac isn’t

seasonal, the foundation of signs must be

based on other types of symbolism such

as the natures of domicile and exalted

lords, ancient triplicity lords and

Aristotle’s four psychological qualities.

Also, a study of temperament in relation

to domicile lords and triplicities might

produce helpful results that could be used

in the analysis of sidereal birth charts.

Birth Data Woody Allen. December 1, 1935, 10:55

PM EST, Bronx, New York, 40N45, 73W56.

(Asc 9° Leo). Source. Birth Certificate.

Maria Callas. December 3, 1923, 6:00 AM

EST, New York, NY, 40N51, 73W54. (Asc

4° Scorpio). Source. From Memory.

William Harrah. September 2, 1911,

12:15 PM PST, Pasadena, CA, 34N08,

118W08. Source. Birth Certificate.

Shari Lewis. January 17, 1933, 10:57 PM

EST, New York, NY, 40N45, 73W56. (Asc

17° Virgo). Source. Birth Certificate.

Anthea Turner. May 25, 1960, 12:30 PM

BST, Norton, England, 54N09, 0W47. (Asc

13° Leo). Source. From Memory.

References 1. Dorotheus of Sidon, Carmen

Astrologicum, Astrology Classics, 2005,

pp. 1-2, 161-162.

2. Robert Hand, commentary in Claudius

Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos, Book 1 (Robert

Schmidt, translator), Berkeley Springs:

Golden Hind Press, 1994, p. 17.

3. Benjamin N. Dykes (translator, editor),

Introductions to Traditional Astrology,

The Cazimi Press, 2010, Book V, “Planetary

Natures,” pp. 240-280.

4. Elizabeth G. Melillo, Ph.D., “The Four

Classic Temperaments and Spirituality,”

www.gloriana.nu/temperaments.html

5. In his writings, Cyril Fagan made it a

point to criticize the “Greek error” of the

tropical zodiac which he replaced with his

own understanding of what he considered

to be the true sidereal zodiac. This zodiac

places Aldebaran and Antares at 15°

Taurus and Scorpio. Fagan’s view of the 12

AS BOTH AN ASTROLOGER AND A

theatre person, I am always

looking for correspondences

between the two crafts. As an actor, I

always scan the script for astrology key

words for insight into a character’s

background and motivations. By the time

dress rehearsals come about, I’ve usually

roughed out a natal chart for the character

I’m playing. It’s part of my process as an

actor.

Since I don’t get to perform much these

days and I spend more time in the audi-

ence than in front of one, the astrology

part of the equation tends to be trans-

ferred to the productions I see.

This year, I became a subscriber to the

Lantern Theater Company in Philadelphia,

due to a friend and colleague from my

University of Wisconsin theatre depart-

ment days acting in two of the four

productions this year. I get to see

It’s Opening Night! Do you KnowWhat the Chart Says?

by Frank Piechoski

opening night of each show, and mingle

with the cast, crew, and staff at a reception

after the show.

Before attending the second production

of 2013, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, I

was struck by how much the themes of

the play were mirrored by the Venus-Pluto

conjunction that would become exact

about an hour and a half into the perfor-

mance. This led me to look at the opening

night charts for the other plays in 2013

also.

The first play of 2013 was The Liar by

David Ives, adapted from the comedy by

Pierre Corneille (see chart on p. 16). Just

the title alone would make astrologers

snicker when looking at the chart for the

opening performance. With Gemini rising,

Mercury in detriment and retrograde, a

Void of Course Moon in Leo, Neptune

exactly conjunct the Mid-heaven, Mars on

please turn to p. 16

sidereal constellations (as distinct from

tropical signs) is especially emphasized in

his Symbolism of the Constellations

(Moray Press, 1962) and Astrological

Origins (Llewellyn Publications, 1971)

THERESE HAMILTON (C.A. NCGR-PAA)

has been an astrologer and researcher

since the early 1970s. After a career tea-

ching art, Therese earned a second B.A.

degree in Psychology from the University

of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in

Counseling Psychology from San Fran-

cisco State University. She has published

articles in British, Indian and American

magazines since the 1970s. Her web site

is devoted to an overview of the sidereal

zodiac and its application to practical

affairs and personal development.

Therese can be contacted at eastwest9@

snowcrest.net. Her web site is

snowcrest.net/sunrise/LostZodiac.htm

page 16

please turn to p. 17

OPENING NIGHT cont’d from p. 15

the descendant, and Venus well-dignified

in domicile in Libra, one might expect a

tale of crafted untruths, subterfuge,

mistaken identity, and romantic confu-

sions. From the Lantern’s own description

of the play:

“Charming, handsome, and an incorrigible

liar, Dorante has come to Paris seeking

pleasure. He falls head over heels for the

beautiful Clarice, but mistakes her name

for that of her best friend, Lucrece. After

lying his way into a world of trouble, can

Dorante lie his way back out again?

Fiendishly clever and a bit naughty, the

wordplay and swordplay of The Liar make

for an evening that’s filled with delights!”

I think that about sums it up.

The aforementioned The Beauty Queen of

Leenane opening chart (see left) looks like

this: From the Lantern’s website about the

play: The Beauty Queen of Leenane is a

wildly funny and deeply affecting satire of

the skirmishes and silent feuds between

mothers and daughters. In a small town in

western Ireland, spinster Maureen Folan

lives with her diabolically helpless mother

Mag. Maureen’s married sisters escaped

long ago, leaving Maureen stuck at home,

chafing against Mag’s cunning manipula-

tions and lamenting her missed chances.

When romance blossoms between

Maureen and the sweet, uncomplicated

Pato Dooley, it pits mother against

daughter, setting the stage for an explo-

sive finish.”

In addition to the previously mentioned

Venus-Pluto conjunction, there are also

tight conjunctions between Moon and

Uranus and Mercury and the Sun. The

Moon-Uranus conjunction will also

perfect during the opening-night perfor-

mance, just minutes later than the Venus-

Pluto conjunction.

With Virgo rising, a peregrine Mercury

combust Sun rules the chart. Aside from

the mitigating Mars-Saturn mutual

reception, the Sun is the only dignified

body in the chart—and it is only in Face,

at its last gasp of dignity. I won’t ruin the

play for those that haven’t seen it, but

there are definite Venus-Pluto and Moon-

Uranus themes explored.

page 17

OPENING NIGHT cont’d from p. 16

The next play, Henry V (see right), should

contain no surprises in plot for anyone

familiar with Shakespeare. As we can see, it

opens on the Vernal Equinox, with the Sun

on the Aries Point. The Sun applies con-

junct to Mars and Uranus. This is a play

about War—and how the underdog goes

about winning it. Virgo rises with Mercury in

both detriment and fall in Pisces. It is the

journey of Hal from Pisces dissolution to Aries

action and eventual hard-fought victory.

The last play of the season is Heroes, by

Tom Stoppard, adapted from Gérald

Sibleyras’ Le Vent Des Peupliers (see

right). Lantern’s description reads:

“Gustave, Philippe, and Henri—war

heroes, all—are plotting an escape.

They’ve had enough of the tortures of their

confinement: dictatorial captors, untrustwor-

thy fellow prisoners, and far too many

birthday parties. Indeed, life in a retired

soldiers’ home is al-most unbearable! So,

while keeping each other company on the

back patio, they hatch a plan to escape to

Indochina, or at least to a picnic under the

poplars on a nearby hill.”

I have not yet seen nor read the play, but

the description above mirrors the Mars-

ruled chart with its Moon-Saturn conjunc-

tion in the 12th House and Mercury-

Venus-Jupiter in the 8th House.

I spoke to Charles McMahon, the artistic

director of Lantern after the opening night

performance of The Beauty Queen of Lee-

nane and asked if he knew if anyone on

staff was astrologically conversant or if

astrology had any part in scheduling the

season and he answered “no” to both

questions. Kathryn MacMillan, Lantern’s

associate artistic director, wrote in an

email, “But it sounds to me like an amazing

coincidence—holidays, set build sched-

ules, the school year, and other compa-

nies’ openings make putting the calendar

together a big challenge as it is.” What

this does show, I believe, is that things

happen at a certain time for reason un-

known to most. The amazing thing is that if

you shuffled the order of the plays and the

charts, the charts wouldn’t fit—they only

really fit that particular play. To me, this

shows how powerful astrology can be.

Acknowledgements. I’d like to thank the

artists and staff of the Lantern Theater

Company for not only allowing the use of

their quotes and materials, but for their

wonderfully enjoyable and moving

productions. You may visit Lantern at:

www.lanterntheater.org. Special thanks to

Ann Clancy, for inspiring and encouraging

me to write this article.

FRANK PIECHOSKI is President of the

Philadelphia NCGR Chapter and

specializes in practical applications of

astrology, including electional, voca-

tional and forecasting work. His lectures

and workshops include presentations at

UAC, NCGR, ISAR, the Astrological

Association of Great Britain, the Astro-

logical Lodge of London, and many local

and regional groups. He also has served

on the NCGR Board and the AFAN

Steering Committee.  A native Philadel-

phian, he enjoys historical research into

all aspects of mundane astrology. His

website is proastrologer.com and he may be

reached at [email protected].

Frank will be leading the Astrological

Walking Tour of Philadelphia on Sunday

August 18, 2013 as a post-conference

event of NCGR 2013.

page 19

NCGR News

Around the Board

Report on the Minutes of the

NCGR National Board of Directors

and Reports of Directors

on April 21, 2013

The meeting was called to order by

John Marchesella, Chair. The

following Board members were in atten-

dance: Judy Johnson, Joyce Levine,

Jagdish Maheshri, John Marchesella,

Christeen Skinner, Kyle Ukes, Leigh

Westin, Linda Wilk, and Mark Wolz.

Staff in attendance: Ronnie Dreyer,

Kenneth Irving, and Liane Thomas Wade,

Secretary.

Chair’s Report. John Marchesella.

Kirk Kahn has agreed to be the audio-

visual manager for the NCGR conference

in Philadelphia. Eric Francis was offered

space in the open area for interviews. He

has a conflict and is checking to see if one

of his assistants can attend. Trish

Buckley is replacing Loretta Lopez as

Publications Director. Loretta is working

on the summer journal. A transition in the

NCGR Yahoo Group is being made. Kyle

Ukes, NCGR’s Media and Communica-

tions Director, will be taking over as

moderator.

Clerk’s Report. Joyce Levine. NCGR is

taking out recurring advertisements in The

Mountain Astrologer. The Executive

Committee approved $100 for the design

of the ad.

Treasurer’s Report. Linda Wilk. As of

April 14, 2013, the NCGR checking

account had $70,777.15. A bill was

received from Etapestry for services from

April 2010 to the present. NCGR discon-

tinued Etapestry in June, 2011. This is

being resolved. A problem with PayPal

has been resolved. Taxes have been

prepared by NCGR’s new accountant. The

accountant suggested separation of

duties with regard to NCGR finances.

Advisory Board Chair’s Report.

Christeen Skinner. Christeen is contact-

ing lapsed international members.

Secretary’s Report. Liane Thomas

Wade. Renewals are coming in.

Publications Director’s Report. John

Marchesella for Trish Buckley. Trish is

replacing Loretta Lopez. Loretta is

finishing the Geocosmic Summer Journal.

Demetrius Bagley sent out cartons of old

journals to the chapters. Journal bundles

are no longer for sale. Ronnie Gale

Dreyer and Ken Irving will bring journals

to Philadelphia for sale. Trish will take an

inventory of journals that she is storing.

Memberletter Editor’s Report. Ronnie

Dreyer. Ronnie is working with Loretta on

the summer issue of the Geocosmic

Journal, which will include about 15

articles from past memberletters, as well

as a few new articles. Sarah Fisk has

offered to help revamp memberletter after

the conference.

Webmaster’s Report. Ken Irving.

International members can now receive

copies of journals online. New password

protected pages are being set up online

for the chapters. It was decided that CDs

would no longer be sold online.

Chapter and SIG Director’s Report.

Leigh Westin. Reminders are being sent

out about chapter delegates to the NCGR

Conference in Philadelphia in August.

Membership Director’s Report. Nina

Gryphon. Guidelines are being set up for

membership scholarships. A renewal

campaign to recapture lapsed members is

being set up. The membership welcome

letter has been revised for new and

renewing members. ANS (Astrology

News Service) has provided NCGR with a

link on its website. Updates and deletions

are being made on the NCGR member list.

Research Director’s Report. Jagdish

Maheshri. The Research Symposium has

eight presenters. Articles are due by June.

Jagdish and Leigh Westin are coordinat-

ing putting together the articles in an

email file that can go out to attendees.

Media and Communications Director’s

Report. Kyle Ukes. Kyle has taken over the

NCGR Facebook page. NCGR podcasts start

in April. The first podcast is with Benjamin

Dykes. Kyle will look into switching the

NCGR Yahoo group to Google Groups.

Education Director’s Report. Mark

Wolz. A Level II class taught by Meira

Epstein is planned by NCGR for August or

September. A class on chart synthesis is

being set up with Jackie Slevin. NCGR

contributed $500 to ANS (Astrology News

Service).

NCGR Conference Report. Judy

Johnson. As of April 21 the conference

registration was slow but should pick up

at the next cutoff.

Old Business Philadelphia Conference. Bags will be

ordered for the conference. Ads will be

sold for the bags. Kirk Kahn will be the

audio-visual manager for the conference.

Approximately 70 new members have

joined NCGR along with conference

registration. please turn to p. 20

Welcome to New Members

Welcome to all new members who joined or rejoined NCGR between

March 18-May 21, 2013.

Annapolis Chapter. Diane Callahan-Ludensky, Brenna Coleman, V. Kulhank; Baltimore

Chapter. Beatriz-Eugenia Jara-Elias; Florida Atlantic Chapter. Marianella Bornacelli;

Gulf Coast Chapter. Brenda Leppart; Member-At-Large. Richard Burns, Frances S.

Glidden, Karen Johnson, Derek Kinsolving, Jill Leitner, JoLynn Nicolaides, Iryna Nimmo;

Mid-Hudson Chapter. Jocelynn Stein; Minnesota “STARS” Chapter. Daniel Hennessy;

New Mexico “Enchantment” Chapter. Michelle Roumell; New York City Chapter. Liane

Bellman, David Kene, Victoria Ohore, Eleni Petraki, Paul Scarinci, Dawn Uwangue,

Cheryl Williams, John Yodice; Northern Illinois Chapter. David Ames, Kathleen Carson,

Rick Kettley; Northern New Jersey Chapter. Judith Flynn; Philadelphia Chapter. Sue

Morris; Richmond Chapter. Lauren Day, Judith Young; Sacramento Chapter. Ramona

O’Brien; Southwestern Suburban Chicago Chapter. LeeAnn McKay; Thailand

Chapter. Tanapat Amonpunnapat, Worasat Aujsacorn, Phichestpan Phwacharntiphony,

Su-unchana Pothipala, Wimolwan Wongyala; Triangle Area Raleigh-Durham Chapter

(NTA). Cynthia Grove; Turkey Chapter. Yasemin Manavbasi.

page 20

New Business It was decided to change advertising

rates.

The next Board meeting will take place

on August 19, 2013, at the end of the

Philadelphia conference.

Submitted by

Joyce Levine, Clerk

Publications News. The summer issue of

the Geocosmic Journal, guest edited

by Ronnie Gale Dreyer and John

Marchesella, will be mailed out before the

conference and will also be available there,

if all goes according to plan. In addition to

new articles by Gene Shaw and Alex

Walker, and an expanded version of

Donna Van Toen’s Asteroids article that

appeared in a past memberletter, the issue

will be a compendium of past

memberletter articles that many of you

may have missed, forgotten about, or did

not read because you were not a member.

The table of contents below reflects the

range of articles and are listed in the order

they appear. Many of these authors will be

featured speakers at NCGR2013 in

Philadelphia, August 15-19, 2013.

• Gene Shaw. The Astrology of TV’s

Dark Shadows

• Alex Walker. Astrology and The Book

of Revelation: The Four Astrological

Archetypes of The Apocalypse

• Neil Grossman. Lennon Meets

McCartney: A Splendid Time is Guaran-

teed for All

• John Marchesella. Stonewall: The

Birth Of The Gay Community. An Astro-

logical Interpretation, and Stonewall

Revisited: The Gay Community in Mid-

Life

• Claudia Bader. Astrology’s Symbolic

Life.

• Jackie Slevin. Finding Success in the

Horoscope

• Anne Ortelee. DNA’s Golden Anniver-

sary: The Controversy behind the

Discovery

• Bruce Scofield. Right or Left?

• Donna Van Toen. Making the Most of

the Asteroids

• Liz Houle. The Quiet Beatle: George

Harrison’s Vedic Chart

NCGR NEWS cont’d from p. 19 • Arlene Marcia Nimark. Planetary

Cycles and Uranian Aspects

• Pat Geisler. Election Charts:

Choosing the Best Date and Time

• Leigh Westin. Declination:

Astrology’s Hidden Hingepin

• Ronnie Gale Dreyer. Transiting

Venus and Mars Retrograde.

Ronnie Gale Dreyer

Guest Editor

NCGR has a YouTube Channel where

you can see interviews that Lynn

Koiner and Linda Furiate, members of

NCGR’s International Liaison committee,

conducted interviews with our interna-

tional members at UAC in New

Orleans. Go to youtube.com/

thegeocosmic where you can see and

hear the following astrologers speak

about how they practice astrology and

what it means to them to be astrologers:

• Karine Dilanyan (Russia)

• Meira Epstein (United States) and

Joe Matarasso (Israel)

• Mónica Escalante-Ochoa (Mexico)

• Baris Ilhan (Turkey)

• Miloslawa Krogulska (Poland)

• Ema Kurent (Slovenia)

• Winai Ouypornprasert (Thailand)

• Izabela Podlaska (Poland)

Network of Triangle Astrologers

(Raleigh-Durham Chapter). The

NTA Educational Book Club kicked off its

first meeting May 7, 2013. Our first

meeting was a great success with lots of

lively discussion and feedback on the

first book we are reviewing Elements &

Evolution, The Spiritual Landscape of

Astrology by Eric Meyers. Many of you

may remember Eric was our presenter at

our March 2013 meeting of our local NTA

chapter of NCGR. Thank you to all that

participated. Our next meeting will be

online, June 4 at 7:00 PM. We will be

reviewing the remainder of Elements &

Evolution. Also at this meeting the

author of Elements & Evolution, Eric

Meyers, will be joining us, thereby giving

the group an opportunity to ask him

questions directly. At the June 4th please turn to p. 21

Around the Chapters-SIGS

meeting participants will also be choosing

a new book for review at the following

meeting on July 2, 2013 at 7:00pm. The

EBC will be choosing a book from a list

gathered from our local NTA chapter

presenters and/or from the suggested

reading material given by NCGR.

Please contact Dorothy Taylor, NTA

NCGR Educational Coordinator at

180dorothy @gmail.com to enroll in the

EBC, as online spaces are limited. Current

Chapter Membership ensures EBC Priority

Seating. Space permitting, Non NTA-

NCGR members are welcome to attend one

EBC session as a guest. Current member-

ship is required for ongoing participation.

EBC updates will be forthcoming.

New York City Chapter. Saturday,

June 15, 2013. 10 AM-5 PM. Spring

All-Day Conference. The Four Faces of

Love: An Astrological View of Relation-

ships from Modern to Ancient with Chris

Brennan, Meira Epstein, Demetra

George, and Michael Lutin. Location:

Fashion Institute of Technology's Great

Hall. Pomerantz Art & Design Center.

Building D. West 27th Street, first right off

7th Avenue. New York City. Information

and registration: www.astrologynyc. org.

Eileen McCabe

President

Northern Illinois Chapter. Saturday,

June 22, 2013. 3:00 PM. Saturn

Return Celebration. Come to our 30th

Birthday Party. Northern Illinois NCGR

turns 30 this year. We were incorporated

on June 24, 1983 at 4:20 PM in New York,

NY. And some of the original members are

still here! We have a great chart, with

Venus in Leo conjunct the MC. And we

love to party! Location: Gail’s Carriage

Inn, 1145 S. Elmhurst Rd., Desplaines, IL

60053. www.gailscarriageinn.com. We are

inviting present members, past members,

old members, new members-past board

members, "old timers" and everyone in

between! If you have been involved in

any way in the astrology community over

the last 30 years, we'd love to see you

again! The cost for the party which

includes a full buffet dinner is $5.00. Yes,

1983 prices! Our Chapter is picking up the

rest of the check. And flying in from New

York to be here from our national organi-

zation is Liane Thomas Wade, the present

page 21

NCGR NEWS cont’d from p. 20

Executive Secretary. We will be taking a

walk down memory lane with photos and

stories. We will have a small ceremony

honoring those from our group who have

passed on and are only with us in spirit.

We will see old friends and connect with

new ones. There will be games and prizes

and a good time to be had by all!

Judy Johnson

President

Annapolis Chapter. The Greatest

Astrological Picnic in the Known

Universe. On Sunday, August 4, at 1:55

PM, the Annapolis NCGR will host an

annual picnic in downtown Silver Spring,

Maryland. The date and time are always

selected astrologically. In over 30 years of

hosting these picnics, it has never been

canceled due to the weather. In August

2012, there were clouds over the entire

eastern seaboard (Rose, our Celtic

Weather Wizard, warned that this was

hurricane season). There was no hope for

some patch of blue sky. Regardless of the

posted time for the picnic, people started

arriving around 12 pm to sign up for read-

ings. Yes, there were two short periods of

drizzle but attendees simply pulled outumbrellas from under their chairs and

continued with their conversations. No

one left because of the weather and the

last of the attendees left around 9pm.

The next day the rain poured! In the past,

astrologers and friends have come from

many States along the east coast, even

from Vienna Austria. This picnic is known

for its excellent readers who come from

Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania,

southern Maryland—and one year

Priscilla Costello came from Canada. In

2012, astrologers from the Ukraine visited

and brought me a bottle of “Stalin’s

favorite wine” from the Republic of

Georgia. Yes, he may have been a brut

and a tyrant but he had good taste in

wine! My father and international film star

www.cornerplot movie.com) of a

documentary based upon his gardening

skills and our urban farm is available in the

afternoon to answer any gardening

questions. Many people buy produce

straight from the garden.

For more information please contact Lynn

at [email protected].

Lynn Koiner

President

Around the Community

Astrology and Academia. Sophia

Centre for the Study of Cosmology in

Culture at the University of Wales offers

the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astro-

logy. For information about the distance

learning program, contact Nick Campion,

[email protected], www.lamp.ac.uk/

sophia.edu. Eleventh Annual Sophia Cen-

tre Conference. Theme: Celestial Magic.

June 22-23, 2013. Venue: Bath Royal Literary

and Scientific Institution, Bath, England.

Keynote speakers: Peter Forshaw, Center

for History of Hermetic Philosophy and

Related Currents, University of Amsterdam,

and Elliot R. Wolfson, Hebrew and Judaic

Studies, New York University. Conference

Chairs: Nicholas Campion, University of

Wales Trinity Saint David, Liz Greene,

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

and the University of Bristol. This

academic conference will explore the

history, philosophy, and practice of

celestial magic in past or present societies.

The Institute for the Study of the

Ancient World, part of New York Univer-

sity, is a graduate program dedicated to

the study of the ancient world (including

astrology). For information about upcom-

ing lectures and events and to put your

name on the mailing list: www.nyu.edu/

isaw.com.

Archai, The Journal of Archetypal

Cosmology is now accepting submissions

and subscriptions. Archai is an academic

journal that explores significant correlations

between cyclical alignments of the planets

and the archetypal patterns of human

experience. Articles should be approximately

5,000-10,000 words and in Chicago style

format. For information

www.archaijournal.org.

Kudos to memberletter editor Ronnie

Gale Dreyer who received her M.A. in

South Asian Languages and Culture from

Columbia University. Her Master’s Thesis

consisted of a translation and analysis of

Many chapters have websites and

facebook pages. If you wish to find out

about a chapter in your area, or one you

are visiting, or if you would like to speak

at a chapter meeting, information about

chapters (including websites) can be

found on pp. 25-26.

five chapters on women’s astrology from a

larger Sanskrit astrological text called

Vrddhayavanajataka (“ancient astrology of

the Greeks”) written by Minaraja in India

during the 4th century CE.

Astrology and the Media. Astrology

News Service (ANS) has a collection of

articles on the history of astrology, studies

that validate astrological factors, and

contro-versies that keep popping up around

astrology. The mission of ANS is to educate

the public about astrology and demonstrate

the value of astrology to individuals and

society. Check it out at

AstrologyNewsService.com.

State of the Art (SOTA) Conference.

This year’s SOTA conference will take

place October 24-27, 2013 at Sheraton at

the Falls, Niagara Falls, NY. Pre-confer-

ence presenters are Maurice Fernandez

and Pam Gallagher. Speakers: JJ

Acolyte, Robin Armstrong, Dr. Patricia

Bell, Dean Bensics, Rev. Ellen Bourn,

Cassandra Butler, Judy Conkel, Paula

Dare, Joan Ann Evelyn, Maurice Fern-

andez, Adam Gainsburg, Pam Gallagher,

Jacqueline Janes, Jillian Kerry, Brad

Kochunas, Rose Marcus, Kenneth Miller,

Franco Minatel, Jeanne Parisi, Chantale

Patenaude, Joe Polise, Alison Price, Sam-

uel Reynolds, Bev Rostant MLT, Debra

Rozek, Samantha Samuels, Nadiya Shah,

Julie Simmons, Kelly Surtees, Kay

Taylor, Donna Van Toen, and Leigh Westin.

For a complete roster of speakers, and

information on registration go to

www.donnavantoen.com.

We extend condolences to New Jersey

NCGR member Nancy Basenese on

the passing of her sister. We also extend

condolences to the friends and family of

James Cunningham. President of the San

Francisco Astrological Society, Linea Van

Horn writes: “It with great sadness that I

must report that my student and NCGR

Level II candidate James Cunningham

passed away last week. It is just heart-

breaking. James had just returned from

NORWAC and was walking his dog when

he was assaulted, fell to the ground and

never regained consciousness. He retired a

year ago and spent the last year happily and

deeply studying astrology. He was an excel-

lent student and a lovely, gentle and kind

person. All who knew him are distraught.”please turn to p. 22

page 22

The Secret Language of Astrology: The

illustrated key to unlocking the secrets of

the stars, by Roy Gillett, Watkins

Publishing, watkinspublishing.co.uk. For

free charts secretlanguageofastrology.

com. Distributed in US and Canada by

Sterling Publishing. 2011. Paper. 176 pp.

$19.95 US/$23.95 CAN. Br. pound price

not listed.

Over the years I have seen countless

coffee table books, and beautifully

illustrated introductory texts in the field of

astrology, tarot, palmistry, and other

metaphysical subjects. The Secret

Language of Astrology, however, is one of

the better ones, since it combines an array

of beautiful photographs and illustrations,

many of which come from library and

museum collections, color charts provided

by Solar Fire (which, along with your own

chart, can be downloaded from

secretlanguageofastrology.com) and text

written by a master astrologer and

longtime president of the Astrological

Association of Great Britain.

What makes this book so breathtaking is

the combination of the visual and the

explanations, which makes this book

perfect for beginners as well as advanced

students of astrolgy, who may not know

about some of the history that is

mentioned here, or some of the charts that

are used to illustrate certain signatures.

The book begins with a few paragraphs

about how to use the book, and words of

warning about how “the wise astrologer

takes account of the current range of

astro-event variables, but always honours

free will. Explore astrology’s meanings to

be better informed, but then make your

own decisions. Do not allow the “stars” to

dictate your life and never use them to

dictate the lives of others.”

We then move on to the past, present, and

future of astrology, surveying its

beginnings, from Babylonian and

Egyptian astrology, through the 21st

century, where Gillett talks about the

subject’s rejection, rediscovery, and

hopes for the future. Of course, this is just

a bird’s-eye view, since this is a survey

book, but provides enough information to

get you wanting to understand more

about astrology’s background and

history.

This is followed by the sections that are

listed under “The Elements of Astrology,”

which consist of the planets, the signs,

the houses and the aspects. Starting with

“Getting to Know the Planets,” each

planet—Sun through Pluto—has a page

with beautiful illustarations, the number,

day, color, part of body, metal, stone, herb

and plant each rules, as well as the

characteristics in general and in the chart.

Although the Nodes are not physical

bodies, I do wish they would have been

included but completely understand why

they were not.

The next section “Understanding the

Zodiac Signs” contains pages on the

polarities, triplicities (elements)

quadruplicities (modalities), and then the

signs, which include a birth chart of a

celebrity born under that Sun-sign,

archetypal examples, and delineations of

each planet in that sign.

The section entitled “What are the 12

Houses?” introduces the difference

between equal and unequal houses, the

angles, and a description of each house,

with keywords and phrases for each

planet in each house.

The section on the aspects explains the

importance of the easy-flowing and

stressful aspects, and then provides

keywords for combinations of every

planet. Due to the beautiful layout of the

book, there is more information packed in

thesepages than would normally fit in an

illustrated book of this type.

The last section of the book shows how

to take all of the information thus far

provided and weave it into a means of

delineating a chart, with the Dalai Lama as

a prime example.

When I was a teenager, I read a copy of

Derek and Julia Parker’s classic text “The

Complete Astrologer,” which my father

Book ReviewsNCGR NEWS cont’d from p. 21

Send tidbits about NCGR members, media

reports, news about births, marriages,

promotions, passings, recognition, etc. to:

[email protected].

Around NCGR-PAA

NCGR-PAA Education News. Congra-

tulations to the following NCGR-PAA

test-takers and NCGR members (and their

Chapters) who have attained proficiency

in a Level of testing:

Level III. New York City Chapter: Gaia

Somasca; Member-at-Large: Jamie

Maihan.   

Testing in Philadelphia. We will offer

testing for the proctored Levels I, II, and

III exams at the forthcoming NCGR

conference in Philadelphia on Monday,

August 19, 2013 at 11:00 AM and will be

proctored by Joseph Polise, a respected

teacher from the Chicago area. Please

contact me no later than August 10th

(preferably before that date) in order to

register for the exams. My email address

is: [email protected].

Graduation Ceremony. There will be a

graduation ceremony honoring our recent

NCGR-PAA certified astrologers at the

NCGR conference in Philadelphia. The

graduation will take place during the

opening ceremony of the conference, on

the evening of Thursday, August 15, 2013.

Please visit our web site:

www.astrologersalliance.org for a

complete listing of all NCGR-PAA Certified

Astrologers, forthcoming test venues, test

fees, webinars, and educational programs,

as well as information about our certifica-

tion program.

Shirley Soffer, C.A., NCGR-PAA

NCGR-PAA Director of Education

please turn to p. 23

Have you moved recently? Has your

email address changed? Are you

ge t t ing your “E-News f rom

NCGR?” Please send address, tele-

phone, and email corrections to Li-

ane Thomas Wade, Executive Sec-

retary (see p. 2). You can get our

weekly electronic publications,

Calendar and Commentary, if we

have your email.

page 23

brought home for me to read, since it was

published by the company he worked for.

The book got me hooked and I never

looked back since reading that book

cover-to-cover multiple times.

I can foresee this book sparking that same

interest and subsequent passion for

astrology in a beginner, and also

reminding some of us old-timers, how and

why we fell in love with this topic in the

first place.

reviewed by Ronnie Gale Dreyer

At the Crossroads: An Astrologer Looks

at these Turbulent Times, by Jessica

Murray, MotherSky Press, www.

MotherSky.com, 2012. Paper. 375 pp.

$24.95.

While the end of the Mayan calendar

has come and gone and we’re still

here, there is still widespread anxiety

about our future on many fronts. The

writing on the collective wall suggests a

change is gonna have to come. We are at

a crossroads on many fronts. Where do

we go from here? Where CAN we go from

here?

This book of essays and articles begins

with a look at the cosmic meltdown of

2009 and proceeds to the years ahead,

ending up with a look at the current

Uranus-Pluto square, the remainder of

Pluto’s transit through Capricorn once the

square is done (from 2016-2023), the

ongoing transit of Neptune in Pisces

(through to 2025 and more). Some of this

material has appeared in The Mountain

Astrologer, in Skywatch, on the

MotherSky website, and on

DayKeeper.com, but most of it is worth

reading again and most of it is still

relevant because we’re still living it.

For example, in a 2009 article for

Skywatch, Murray writes, “Have you

noticed that most of the lead stories lately

are about illusion and fraud (Neptune)?”

She cites rigged elections, adultery of

public figures, bribery charges coming to

light, and various disinformation

campaigns, notably in regard to Iran and

“defense spending” and describes mass

media and pop culture as to a large extent

being “Neptune in its unconscious state.”

That Neptune is of course still with us,

BOOK REVIEWS cont’d from p. 22 and Murray tells us that this is not the

time for “fence-straddling.”

Nor, it would seem, is it time to smile and

stick your head in the sand or to hide

behind the guise of political correctness.

How about the teabaggers, the Koch

Brothers, and Fox News and their propen-

sity for creating propaganda and red her-

rings and deflecting attention away from

the real source of some of the problems?

Yup, misapplied Neptune again. Or what

about WikiLeaks? (Yes, more Neptune,

with a little hand from Uranus and Pluto).

While this is sounding like a book about

Neptune’s transits, that is definitely not

the case. There is good information on the

last U.S. Saturn return (Murray uses the

Sibly chart), the Cardinal Grand Cross, the

Uranus-Pluto square and more. Murray

writes well and has a real knack for calling

the transits as they are in an insightful

and insight-provoking way. As I read

many of these chapters, I could see how

these themes were still playing out and

could contrast and correlate events of the

present with those of the past few years.

Although this book is to some extent very

US-centric, many of the themes discussed

have relevance no matter where you live

in the global community. And the message

is clear: Now is all there is. It’s time for us

to live through our charts rather than

merely avoiding or denying the situations

that impact us collectively and personally

and letting things happen “to” us.

Highly recommended!

reviewed by Donna Van Toen

Planetary Resonance: Everything Leaves

a Trace, by Dorothy Oja, Mindworks,

www.planetweather.net, 2012. Paper. 83 pp.

$24.95.

This is a unique and fresh approach to

outer cycles as they relate to personal

planets. Dorothy Oja has pioneered this

technique and has been working with it

and lecturing on it for at least ten years

now. And I’ve been waiting for the book

almost that long.

The theory behind planetary resonance is

simple: Conjunctions, squares, and oppo-

sitions between the three outer planets to

any one of your personal planets prior to

your birth leave a “residue” behind. This

residue lasts for much longer than a tran-

sit does; it in fact lasts until the next hard

aspect to the same natal planet. In other

words, if Uranus squared your Sun prior

to your birth, that square leaves a

“residue” that lasts until another outer

planet conjoins, squares, or opposes your

Sun after your birth. When that happens,

the energy shifts into a new phase. These

are your birth planetary resonances, and

they symbolize an unfoldment and

assimilation of outer planet energies.

Oja gives some basic keywords for these

outer-planet resonances themselves,

although leaves it to you to synthesize

those keywords with the appropriate natal

planet. Once you have found your pre-

birth resonances, you can then move on

and have a look at your post-birth

planetary resonances as shown by

transits to your personal planets from

outer planets. What you come up with in

the end are a number of sub-periods of

varying length, much like the Persian

firdaria or Indian dasa in their

interpretation.

Oja gives full instructions for calculating

these resonances (she uses Solar Fire).

She also includes a number of examples of

how various resonances have played out

in the lives of Barack Obama, Steve Jobs,

Michael Jackson, and others. I would note

by the way, that this is a technique that

can be used with some success on charts

where the birth time is uncertain or

lacking.

As you might suspect if you looked at the

number of pages in this book, it is a

seedbook—not a cookbook. While the

concepts presented are easy to grasp, the

average first-year or second-year student

is probably not going to find it easy to

work with these cycles. Or maybe I should

say that they probably won’t find it easy

to interpret these cycles—though if they

go back into their own lives, they will no

doubt find interpretive material that is

clearer and more graphic than anything

that might be found in a cookbook.

Still, I have to say that I too would have

liked to see more material—particularly in

terms of synthesizing the various personal

planet birth resonances. I am hoping that

please turn to p. 24

page 24

May 1, 2013. Mercury enters Taurus.

3:35 PM.

May 9, 2013. Venus enters Gemini. 3:03

PM.

May 10, 2013. Solar (New Moon)

Eclipse. 0:28 AM. 19° Taurus 31'.

May 15, 2013. Mercury enters Gemini.

8:42 PM.

May 20, 2013. Sun enters Gemini. 9:09 PM.

May 25, 2013. Lunar (Full Moon)

Eclipse. 4:24 AM. 4° Sagittarius 08'.

May 31, 2013. Mercury enters Cancer.

7:10 AM.

May 31, 2013. Mars enters Gemini. 10:38

AM.

June 2, 2013. Venus enters Cancer. 2:12

PM

June 7, 2013. Neptune stations retro-

grade. 8:26 AM. 05° Pisces 22'.

June 8, 2013. New Moon. 3:56 PM 18°

Gemini 00'

June 21, 2013. Sun enters Cancer. 5:03 AM

June 23, 2013. Full Moon. 11:32 AM 2°

Capricorn 9'

June 26, 2013. Jupiter enters Cancer.

1:40 AM

June 26, 2013. Mercury stations

retrograde. 1:08 PM. 23° Cancer 6'

June 27 2013. Venus enters Leo. 5:03 PM

July 8, 2013. Saturn stations direct. 5:12

AM. 4° Scorpio 49'

July 8, 2013. New Moon. 7:14 AM. 16°

Cancer 17'.

July 13, 2013. Mars enters Cancer. 1:22

PM

July 17, 2013. Uranus stations retro-

grade. 5:20 PM. 12° Aries 31'

July 20, 2013. Mercury stations direct.

6:23 PM. 13° Cancer 22'

July 22, 2013. Venus enters Virgo. 12:40

PM.

July 22, 2013. Sun enters Leo. 3:55 PM.

July 22, 2013. Full Moon. 6:15 PM. 0°

Aquarius 5'.

Listings are calculated according to the

tropical zodiac and GMT. For sidereal

positions with Lahiri ayanamsa, subtract

24°04’ from tropical positions, and with

Fagan-Bradley ayanamsa subtract 24°57’.

Celestial EventsMay-July 2013

another, more in-depth volume will

eventually grow out of this one.

Meanwhile, advanced students who are

looking for new techniques, and are

willing to do a bit of research of their own

will find this slender volume very rich in

food for thought. By all means, give it a

look!

reviewed by Donna Van Toen

Books ReceivedAs usual, space just does not allow us to

give every book we receive an in-depth

review. The following books that were

received for review are well worth a look.

The Moon’s Nodes: Understanding the

Dynamic Ties that Bind, by Agneta

Borstein, Ibis Press, www.ibispress.net,

2012. Paper. 186 pp. $18.95.

This is a revised version of Borstein’s

original book on the Nodes, and it is still a

superb presentation of the Nodes from an

East-West perspective. The approach is

original, and it provides great insights

into how to use the Nodes in your chart.

The following books are published by

AFA, Inc. www.astrologers.com.

Now That I've Cast It, What Should I Do

With It, by Maxine Taylor, 2011. Paper. 126

pp. $13.95.

This book is a step-by-step basic interpre-

tive guide to horoscope interpretation

including plan-ets in signs and houses,

signs on cusps, hard and soft aspects,

and astrological concepts.

Horary Astrology and the Judgment of

Events, by Barbara Watters, 2012. First

published in 1992. Paper. 174 pp. $22.95.

This reprint is a practical guide to horary

astrology with a step-by-step method of

analysis, and actual examples and

outcomes involving real estate, invest-

ments, health, missing people, trials,

business, employment, and more.

The following books are published by

ACS Publications,

www.acspublications.com.

The Palmistry Textbook: An Illustrated

Guide to Reading Hands, by Peter Burns,

2011. Paper. 168 pp. $14.95.

Very good thorough guide to reading

hands, which includes many beautifully

BOOK REVIEWS cont’d from p. 23 illustrations, which shows you how to

understand lines, mounts, markings, etc.

Astrology for Career Success: How to Ana-

lyze Career Choices and Timing, by Gayle

Geffner, 2012. Paper. 228 pp. $15.95.

A practical guide to vocational analysis

and guidance using actual case studies.

Beginning with basic natal analysis

Geffner uses a variety of techniques

including secondary progressions,

derivative houses, transits, solar and lunar

returns, midpoints, and solar arcs.

reviewed by Ronnie Gale Dreyer

RONNIE GALE DREYER received her MA

in South Asian Languages and Culture

from Columbia University and is NCGR-

PAA certified. She is a consultant,

lecturer, and teacher practicing in New

York City. A pioneer in introducing

Indian astrology to Western audiences,

Ronnie has written articles, reviews, and

books including Vedic Astrology, Venus,

and Healing Signs, which have been

translated into several languages.

Ronnie is an ACVA faculty member,

NCGR memberletter editor, former AFAN

Presiding Officer, and the recipient of the

2002 Marion D. March Regulus Award

for Community Service. She can be

reached at www.ronniedreyer.

com,[email protected].

DONNA VAN TOEN is an astrological

consultant, teacher, and author of “The

Mars Book” and “The Astrologer’s Node

Book.” She coordinates the annual State of

the Art (SOTA) Conference, and speaks for

groups and conferences throughout the

world. Donna has served on AFAN’s Steer-

ing Committee in a variety of capacities,

most recently as its Presiding Officer. She

serves on NCGR’s Advisory Board, and was

co-coordinator of UAC 2008. Donna can

be reached for consultations at 905-525-

0646, [email protected],

www.donnavantoen.com.

If you would like to send a book for review,

please email memberletter@geocosmic.

org, and we will provide you with the

mailing address. We cannot guarantee if

and when a review will appear. If a review is

not published, we will mention it in our

Books Received column. You can also

submit a description of your book to the

Book Nook, which appears in the weekly

E-News from NCGR. Send to

[email protected].

page 25

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER CONTACTSwww.geocosmic.org/chapters

The following events occur May through August.

Many chapters and SIGS have their own

websites that are listed below and many do not

have meetings during the summer.

CALIFORNIA. Los Angeles County Chapter. Jack Taube,President, 6333 Canoga Ave. #391, Woodland HillsCA 91367,818-716-1765, Ed Helin, www.ncgrla.com, eandl [email protected], Mtgs. 3rd Thurs. Din-ner, 6:30 pm, Carrow's Restaurant, 18355 VenturaBlvd., Tarzana CA. Lecture starts 7:45 PM. Mem-bers. $3. Visitors: $5. Sacramento Area Chapter. Sacramento AreaChapter. Linda Byrd, President, 2351 Sunset Blvd.,#170-404, Rocklin CA 95765, 916-721-4838,Fax:916-722-4223, info@ncgr sacramento.org,www.ncgrsacramento.org. 4th Sunday, 1:00-3:30 PM. The Reserves at the Galleria Clubhouse,501 Gibson Dr., Roseville CA. All events andmeetings below. Call for gate code. Schedulesubject to change. Contact us to confirm. Doorfee $5 NCGR members/$15 for non-membersunless noted. Special events individually pricedwith advance registration discounts (membersonly) up to a week ahead. 5/19. Member Share,Chet Zdrowski. The Shadow and Modern As-

trology, 6/23. Special Event, Eric Meyers, The

Astrology of Spiritual Awakening.

San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. StevePincus, President, P.O. Box 4834, MountainView, CA 94040; 408-962-0596, Fax: 408-962-0709; [email protected]; www.ncgrsanfrancisco.org. Meetings TBA Weekdayevenings, 7:30-9:30 PM; Fort Mason Center,Building C. San Francisco. Advance Reg. $12NCGR Members/$15 non-members. Day:$15Members/$18 non-members. Workshops HalfDay: Noon-4 PM, Advance Reg: $25 NCGR Mem-bers/$30 Non-Members. Day of Event. $30 NCGRMembers/$35 Non-Members. Full Day: 10:30 AM-5:30 PM; Advance Reg: $50 NCGR Members/$60 Non-Members. Day of Event:$60 NCGRMembers/ $70 Non-Members. Tue. 5/14. JamieKahl Miller. Running a Lucrative Practice as an

Astrological Server; 6/13. Georgia Stathis. Sol-

stice Points and other Timing Techniques.

San Diego Chapter. Tina Miles, President,[email protected], 760-271-6773.Kelly O'Tillery, Publicity Director, [email protected], 760-683-5191; www. ncgrsandiego.org. Mtgs. 3rd Saturday featuring localand regional astrologers.11 am-1 pm. US BankBuilding, Community Room, 131 North El CaminoReal, Encinitas, CA. 92024. $5. Members/ $8. non-members for Sat. meetings. Sat. 6/15. Loda Shaw.The Relocation Chart.

COLORADO. Rocky Mountain (Denver) Chap-ter. Karen Anderson, Presdent, P.O. Box 328,ollinsville, CO 80474; DistantStarkA @cs.com; 303-258-7258; Mtgs. Generally1st Fri. 7:00 PM, Sep-tember through June. Nic Nac Nook, 4280 MorrisonRd, Denver, Colorado, (303) 922-9063.CONNECTICUT. Berkshire-Fairfield Chapter.Pamela Vitko, [email protected], SharonMcNeal, [email protected], www.ctastrollogers.org, Study groups 2nd Sun, 2-5:00 PM. $5.Check website for dates of monthly study groups.Our eight onthly study-groups Study-group loca-tions will be announced via e-mail prior to eachmeeting, or contact group for location.

FLORIDA. Florida Atlantic Chapter. Mimi Alonso,President, 954-296-1211, mysticmimi@ gmail.com;Kathy Allan, 772-332-0710, www.ncgrsouthflorida.org. www.meetup.com/astrologers. Mtgs 3rdSaturday. 10:30-5:30 pm. Ft. Lauderdale AirportHilton, 1870 Griffin Road, Dania, FL. Socializeand register: 10:30 AM; Lecture: 11am. Pleaseplan on arriving before 10:45.Lunch:1:15-2:30pm.Afternoon Workshop: 2:30-5:30pm.$40Current NCGR Members, $45 Non-members andguests. Stay all day, for both the morning lectureand the more in-depth afternoon workshop. Thisusually includes practical examples with attend-ees charts, so get your chart in early if you want tobe an example! Lecture Only: 11am-1pm $15 mem-bers or guests. Bring new or gently used book oritem to donate for raffle. 5/8. Michelle Adler. Money,

Career & Love, and how to predict them

ILLINOIS. Northern Illinois Chapter. Judy Johnson,President, 7807 Eleanor Place, Willowbrook, IL60527, judyjohnson7807 @yahoo.com, 630-303-3187, Janet Berres, VP, [email protected], www.chicagoland astrology.com.Mtgs March-December, 2nd Tuesday 7:30 PM atthe Dance Building, 1330 Webford Avenue, DesPlaines, IL 60010. Doors open 7:00 PM. $8 mem-bers and $10 non-members. See website fordetails as they are posted. AYA members canattend at NCGR member rates. 5/14. DavidRappoport. Lunar Mansions; 6/11. Dawn Silver.Preventative Medicine and the Sixth House. Sat.6/22. 3:00 PM. Special Event. Northern IllinoisChapter Saturn Return Celebration. Come to our30th Birthday Party. Location: Gail’s Carriage Inn,1145 S. Elmhurst Rd., Desplaines, IL 60053.www.gailscarriageinn.com (see p. 22). 7/9.Marlene Tomasello. Using the Natal & Solar

charts for Prediction. 8/6. Pizza Roundtable.Topic TBA. Monthly Meeting Lecture. Southwest Suburban Chicago Chapter. PatHanus-Dussman, President, 6501 Patricia Avenue,Tinley Park, IL 60477, 708-444-8323,[email protected], Julie Camery, 219-880-6603. Mtgs. 1st Friday. 7-9 PM. Palos Heights Rec-reation Center, 6601 W. 127th St. Palos Heights.Members $5.00; Non-Members:$10.00. (Note: Al-ways bring your natal chart to lectures if you haveone.) 5/3. Jon Parks; TBA; 6/7. Mahala Bacon.Astrology is the Most Reliable Voice of the Uni-

verse.

MARYLAND. Annapolis Chapter. Lynn Koiner, President,301-589-2074, [email protected]. Forspeaker scheduling, contact Linda Furiate,[email protected] Mtgs. 2nd Sat. 10:30 AM-12:30 PM. The Country Inn and Suites, Annapolis.5$ Members/$10 Non-Members. Workshops $40Members/$50 Non-Members. The group meets atthe Italian Market, 26 Defense Highway, Annapolisfor lunch and a round table discussion. Sun. 8/4.Silver Spring. The Greatest Astrological Picnic

in the Known Universe. (see p. 22) Baltimore Astrological Society. Teri Taylor,President, 410-794-9126, terilee2306@ gmail.com,Kari Noren-Horshal, VP, karinorenhoshal@ aol.com, www.basastrology.org, 410-662-4676,www.meetup.com/Baltimore-Astrological-Society.Mtgs. monthly (usually 3rd Friday) 7-9 PM. Com-munity Room at Ruscombe Community Health Cen-ter, 4801 Yellowwood Rd. (Ruscombe Mansionlower level), Baltimore. NOTE: This is a shoeless

facility. Please bring socks. $10 members/non-mem-bers. 5/10. Lee Lehman. The Nodal Cycle, from

Ptolemy to Rudhyar. Sun. 8/4. Greatest Astrologi-cal Picnic in the Known Universe. (see p. 22).

MASSACHUSETTS. Boston Chapter. JoyceLevine, President, [email protected], 617-354-7075; www.ncgrbostonastrology.org. Mtgs.One weekend day per month. Registration andNetworking. 12-12:30 PM. Lecture. 12:30-4:30 PM.All meetings at Beech Street Center. Sat. 5/11.Ronnie Gale Dreyer. Predictive Power of

Eclipses; Sat. 6/1. John Marchesella. Four Parts

of Love: The Astrology of Relationships.

MICHIGAN. Ann Arbor Chapter. SoutheastMichigan Astrologers' Round Table.(SMART). Pam Wenzel, President. 734-788-0186;[email protected], Rodney Smith, VP,734-879-0035, [email protected]. Sundays. Classic Cup Café. 4389 JacksonRoad, Ann Arbor, MI 481032-4:30 pm, $15 mem-

bers/$18 non-members.

MINNESOTA. STARS Chapter. Heather RoanRobbins, President. [email protected], 612-615-2604, www.mnstars. com. Mtgs. Usually 4thSunday. 2:30-5:30 pm. Lund’s Community Room,1450 W. Lake St; or Twin Cities Friends MeetingHouse, 1725 and Ave., St. Paul. $5 members, $8non-members.

NEVADA. Las Vegas Stargazers Chapter.Gayle Kirk, President, [email protected], 702.558.6594, www.ncgrlasvegas.org, www.facebook.com/NcgrLasVegasStar-gazers. We meet on the last Tuesday of the monthexcept August and December, 6:30-8:30 pm, EastLas Vegas Community Center, Conference Room1, 250 North Eastern Avenue, Las Vegas, NV89101. Please check out our website andFacebook page for the most up to date informa-tion about our meetings and workshops. If you'reinterested in speaking or just going to be in LasVegas and would like to attend one of our meet-ings, we'd love to hear from you.

NEW JERSEY. Northern New Jersey Chapter.Joanne Castro,President, PO Box 244, Lebanon,NJ 08833, 908-418-0365, Jocat0413 @aol.com,Jackie Slevin, 973-7445347, [email protected]. Friday eves 7:30 PM at various locations.Fees: Members $20, Seniors $10, Non-members$20. Contact Joanne for information regardingNCGR-PAA testing.

NEW MEXICO. New Mexico “Enchantment”Chapter. Sandy Bryan, President. 505-255-5001;[email protected], www. swcp.com/~nmncgr.Mtgs. 1st Wed. at 7 PM. 721 Jefferson NE, Albu-querque, NM. $10 donation requested. 5/6. Spe-cial Guest Lecturer or Jupiter and Saturn. 6/5.Jessica Billings. Meeting the World Through Your

Ascendant.

NEW YORK. Long Island Chapter. BonnieSimms, President, 302 Sycamore Ave, Merrick, NY11566, [email protected], Angelita De Christopher,Secretary, [email protected], www.lincgr.com. Mtgs. 2nd Friday. 7:30-9:30 PM, 302 SycamoreAve, Merrick, NY; Members $10, Non-members$15. 5/10. John Marchesella. Charts of Twins:A Lesson in Predictive Astrology; 6/7.JackieSlevin. When Birth Charts Become Flow

page 26

Charts; 7/12. Eric Meyers. Astrology and Spiri-

tual Awakening; 8/9. Janet Booth. Explaining

Eris.

Mid Hudson Upstate Chapter. Susan Campbell,President, 48 Elm Street, Saugerties, NY 12477,[email protected], 845-246-2062,www.midhudsonupstatencgr.net. Mtgs. Mondays.Home of Susan Campbell, Saugerties NY. New York City Chapter. Eileen McCabe, Presi-dent, 212-431-9834, eileenmccabe@ msn.com;John Marchesella (classes and workshops),astrojohn@ earthlink.net; NCGR Hotline: 212-255-3236. www.astrologynyc.org, Mtgs. Monday 6:30PM, Joanna Shannon Library, 39 5th Avenue, 1B,New York City. $5 members/$10 non-members.Go to website for schedule. Sat. 6/15. 10 AM-5PM. New Venue at Fashion Institute ofTechnology's Great Hall. Pomerantz Art & De-sign Center. Building D. West 27th Street, firstright off 7th Avenue. Spring Conference: The

Four Faces of Love: An astrological view of rela-

tionships from modern to ancient with ChrisBrennan, Meira Epstein, Demetra George, andMichael Lutin.

NORTH CAROLINA. Queen Charlotte Chapter. Co-Presidents.Hazel Isaac, President. 704-795-5890,[email protected]. Mtgs held 3rd Sunday2-5 PM at Earth Fare, Pineville, NC. One hour ofbasic natal instruction and one hour of currenttransit discussion.  Fees:$ 5 for members; $10for non-members. Out to dinner afterwards. Raleigh-Durham. Network of Triangle As-trologers. Elizabeth Wilson, President, 919-602-6507, [email protected], Nancy Dimitrios, VP& Membership Director, www.ntastrology. org.Mtgs. 3rd Thurs. Sept.-May, 7 PM. The DancingMoon Bookstore, 1840 Wake Forest Road, RaleghNC, 919-833-8081. $8 members/$10 non-mem-bers. 5/16. Jean Dailey. From Wounded to

Healer: The Akashic Records and Astrology.

5/7, 6/4, 72. 7:00 PM. Educational Book Club.(see p. 21)

OHIO. Ohio Valley Chapter. Victoria Rogers,President. 3029 Marshall Avenue, Cincinnati OH45220-2511, 513-861-8103, [email protected]. com,Norma Palazzolo, Secretary, normap@ cinci.rr.com. www.ncgr-ohiovalley.org. Mtgs. 4th Fri. 7-9 PM, Maderia Municipal Building (corner of Euclidand Miami Roads) unless otherwise noted. Free

for NCGR members; $5/ non-members.

OREGON. Southern Oregon Chapter(SONCGR). Mary Plumb, President, 141 CrockerSt., Ashland OR 97520, 541-488-3048,[email protected], Doug Kellogg at 541-482-8988, www.astrologyin ashland.org; Mtgs. 3rdMonday, 7 pm. September-May. Oasis, 258 AStreet, Suite 21, Ashland $6 General, $5 Seniors62+, $4 NCGR Members. To get on email list ofannouncements sign up on our website. We arenow broadcasting some of our lectures free onthe web! Visit www.Ustream.tv and search forthe show "Astrology in Ashland.” Now anyoneanywhere in the world can join us on the web towatch our lectures.

PENNSYLVANIA. Philadelphia Chapter. FrankPiechoski, President, [email protected] Philadelphia NCGR Chapter meets on the sec-ond Sunday of each month at 3:30 p.m. in Phila-delphia, place TBA. Please contact Frank Piechoski

at [email protected] for more informa-tion.

TEXAS. Gulf Coast Chapter. For information,email John Marchesella, [email protected] orLeigh Westin, [email protected]. Anyonewho has joined or renewed in the past fewmonths, please contact one of the above.

VIRGINIA. Richmond Chapter. Edna Matthews,President, PO Box 8412, Richmond VA 23226,[email protected], or Ruth Barrett,[email protected], 804-740-1133. Mtgs.Sat. 2:00 PM. at the Weinstein Jewish CommunityCenter, 5403 Monument Ave., Richmond.

WISCONSIN. Milwaukee Chapter. Nancy K.Simpson, President. 8707 N 52nd Street, BrownDeer, WI 53223, [email protected], 414-339-5428. Mtgs. 7:15 pm. Fritz’s Pub, 3086 S. 20thStreet, Milwaukee, WI. Fee: Members $7, Non-members $10. Tues. 6/11. Roberta Hanus. First

Meeting.

INTERNATIONAL CHAPTERS

JAPAN. Tokyo Chapter. Terumi Kondo, Presi-dent. JANet Inc./JANet School of Astrology, 2-2-6-1101, Minami-Aoyama, Minato-Ward, Tokyo, 107-0062: [email protected], tel. 81-90-7823-6159. Fax:03-3406-8608; www.astrology. jp; dis-cussion group:http://groups.yahoo.co.jp/group/ncgr_tokyo. blog: http://blog.goo.ne.jp/ncgrtokyo.1st Saturday. Monthly Astrology Cluster, 2:00-4:00PM at Café Tapiros. Members: \2,000 (JPY) / Non-Members: 2,500 (JPY); Includes Tea/Coffee withSweets. Participation is open to everyone, so feelfree to join us. Every month meeting includesUruanna Hohkyu’s short lecture about abovetheme.

MEXICO. AstroMéxico Chapter. MónicaEscalante-Ochoa, President, Cerrada de MiguelNoreña # 23 casa 2, Col. San José Insurgentes,CP 03900 México DF, México, Tel. 525 651-6598,[email protected]; www.astromexico.6/2. Roslyn Cobaj. El número 7 y el harmónico 7;

(The number 7 and the Harmonic); 6/2. CatalinaAntón. Junio: Direcciones primarias (PrimaryDirections); 6/8. Georgia Stathis. Internet Course.Principios de astrología de negocios (Principles

of Business Astrology); 7/6. Kira Sutherland.La astrología de los temas del cuerpo (Astrol-

ogy and the Body); 8/25. Catalina Antón.

Direcciones primarias (Primary Directions).

Mexico City Chapter. Cecilia Ortiz Bullé Goyri,President. San Francisco # 1212, Col. Del ValleC.P. 03100, (55) 5536 6196,[email protected].

THAILAND. Thailand Chapter. WinaiOuypornprasert, President, UACT (Uranian As-trologers Club, Thailand) 28/27 Soi Nakhaniwas48 Yak 18 Nakhaniwas Road, Ladphrao, Bangkok10230 Thailand,Tel./Fax. +662-935-4252;[email protected]; rasamichanpbhen.com. Bimonthly members meeting, 2:00-4:00 P.M.at UACT.

TURKEY. Turkey Chapter. Baris Ilhan,Av.Sureyya Agaoglu Sok. 12/5 Tesvikiye, Istanbul80200, [email protected], www.ncgr-turkey.com. 5/26. NCGR-PAA Testing.

SIGS (Special Interest Groups)

AST SIG (Asteroids). For information, contri-butions to newsletter (GAIA) and sample copiesfor $1.50: Nona Gwynn Press, 77-35 113th St.Apt.4A, Forest Hills, NY 11375; 718-263-8084,[email protected]; www. geocosmic. org/astsig. Membership send dues $15; $24 over-seas to: Richard Wright, P.O. Box 1993, Hartford,CT 06144, phoenyx_us5@hotmail. com, 203-982-1653, For asteroid positions or ephemerides: DaveCampbell, Vice President, [email protected], 623-463-6286. DECL SIG (Declination). Nelda L. Tanner,President, PO Box 153, Chino Valley, AZ [email protected], or Lois Hannan, Cor-responding Secretary, CHannan844@ aol.com,www.declination.org. Dedicated to declinationapplication and research, it publishes The Other

Dimension, a 16-page quarterly journal. To sub-scribe, send check or money order made out toDeclination SIG, $18 U.S.,$20 Canada and Mexico,$25 elsewhere (all in US$) to Treasurer, MarthaRamsey, 400 Avenue D, Roswell NM 88203. Sendauthor contributions to Leigh Westin, Editor,[email protected]. URANIAN SOCIETY SIG. (Uranian/Cosmobiology). For information, back issuesand contributions to the Urania Journal, Liane Tho-mas Wade, President and Editor, 531Main St.,#1612, New York, NY 10044. 917-855-8824,[email protected], www.uraniansociety.com. Formembership, send $25 U.S./$35 others to ChiemiMatsumoto, 68 Garden St., #7L, Brooklyn, NY11206.

Charts used in this issue are generated

by Solar Fire, and used courtesy of As-

trolabe, Inc. Each chart is drawn to the

author’s specifications.

Have you moved recently? Has

your email address changed? Are

you getting your “E-News from

NCGR?” Please send address,

telephone, and email corrections

to Liane Thomas Wade, Executive

Secretary (see p. 2). You can get

our weekly electronic publica-

tions, Calendar and Commentary,

if we have your email.

To form a study Group, chapter, or SIG,

send proposals to Leigh Westin, chap-

ters@ geocosmic.org. Send chapter ev-

ents and contact listings for memberletter

to: Ronnie Dreyer, memberletter@

geocosmic.org, and for electronic Around

the World with NCGR to Liane Thomas

Wade, [email protected]

page 27

ASSETS

Current Assets

Checking/Savings

1000 · Unrestricted Cash Account 20,456 1050 · Money Market Account 35,322 1060 · Titunik MM 12,074

Total Checking/Savings 67,852

Accounts Receivable

1200 · Accounts Receivable 550 1250 · Receivable from PAA 395 Total Accounts Receivable 945 Other Current Assets

1300 · Prepaid Expense 776 1400 · Inventory 13,113 Total Other Current Assets 13,889

Total Current Assets 82,686

Other Assets

1800 · Due From Other Funds 43,965 1850 · Loans Receivable 10,000

Total Other Assets 53,965

TOTAL ASSETS 136,651

LIABILITIES & EQUITY

Liabilities

Current Liabilities

Accounts Payable

2000 · Accounts Payable 164

Total Accounts Payable 164

Credit Cards

2150 · Bank of America Credit Cards 1,066

Total Credit Cards 1,066

Other Current Liabilities

2200 Payroll Liabilities (74)

2250 ·Accrued Expenses 1,509

2260 Accrued Payroll 2,200

2300 · Sales Tax Payable 4

2400 · Deferred Revenue 11,942

Total Other Current Liabilities 15,581

Total Current Liabilities 16,811

Long Term Liabilities

2600 · Chapter Rebates 22,013

Total Long Term Liabilities 22,013Total Liabilities 38,824Equity

3200 · Temp. Restricted Net Assets 24,732

3500 Net Assets - Unallocated 42,647

Net Income 30,448

Total Equity 97,827

TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY 136,651

NCGR Balance Sheet ComparisonAs of June 30, 2012 Ordinary Income/Expense

Income

4100 · Membership Dues 66,594

4190 · Discounts on Dues (2,843)

4200 · Conference/Special Event Rev. 48,315

4700 · Product/Publication Sales 4,684

4850 · Shipping & Handling Revenue 236

4900 · Investment Income 224

4920 · Interest on Loan 1,200

4950 · Other Operating Income 1,682

Total Income 120,092

Cost of Goods Sold

4800 · Discounts Given 6

5100 · COGS 274

5118 · COGS - T-shirts 255

5150 · Inventory Loss or Shortage 1,995

Total COGS 2,530

Gross Profit 117,562

Expense

5250 · Bank Charges 124

5260 · Credit Card Processing Fees 2,079

5270 · Interest Expense 10

5280 · Penalties 20

5600 · Equipment - Non Capital 1,078

5700 · Honorariums 1,675

5800 · Insurance 379

5900 · Licenses & Permits 795

6125 · Non-Inventory Products 126

6200 · Other Expenses 181

6225 · Other Member Services 100

6250 · Payroll Expenses 42,325

6300 · Postage & Delivery 4,600

6350 · Printing & Reproductions 3,551

6450 · Professional Fees 12,712

6650 · Scholarships & Awards 1,709

6690 · Reconciliation Discrepancies 167

6700 · Speaker Fees 1,625

6750 · Subcontracts 8,822

6800 · Supplies & Materials 1,066

6850 · Telecommunications 1,835

6900 · Travel & Entertainment 2,613

Total Expense 87,590

Net Ordinary Income 29,973

Other Income/Expense

Other Income

8000 · Special Purpose Fund Contrib 2,505

8350 · PAA Overhead 904

8500 · Taxable Ad Sales 4,357

Total Other Income 7,766

Other Expense

9500 · Commission on Ad Sales 948

9600 · Write Offs 5,511

9700 · Income Taxes 833

Total Other Expense 7,291

Net Other Income 475

Net Income 30,448

Profit and Loss Statement July 2011-June 2012

page 28

PUBLICATIONS ANDADVERTISING DEADLINES

Deadlines for article submissions andadvertising copy:

December 1. Jan.-February issue

February 1. March-April issue April 1. May-June issue

June 1. July-August issue August 1. Sept.-October issue

October 1. Nov.-December issue

To submit an article, please query before

the deadline to Ronnie Dreyer, Editor, at

[email protected]. Please see

left for publications guidelines, and topics

of interest.

Classified Ads. You can take out a classi-

fied ad of 30 words for $55.00.

To place an ad, please contact Arlene

Nimark to inquire about rates and reserve

space by the above deadlines: 718-377-

0482, [email protected].

NCGR PUBLICATIONS

• Research Compendium (from Geo-

cosmic Alchemy Conference). $20.00

• Essentials of Intermediate Astrol-

ogy. $15.00.

• Back issues of NCGR Journal $7.00

and $10.00

To order: Add $5.00 S&H domestic,

$3.00 for each additional, and $8.00

foreign in U.S. funds. Visa and

Mastercard accepted. Mail to: NCGR

Publications, 531 Main St., #1612, New

York NY 10044, Ph-Fax, 212-838-NCGR,

[email protected]. Order online

at www.geocosmic.org. Checks payable

to NCGR Publications.

NCGR Conference MP3sAvailable Now

NCGR STATEMENT OF PURPOSEThe purpose of NCGR shall be to provide an

environment to foster and publish research of a

geocosmic nature and to pursue educational pro-

grams in various interdisciplinary fields related

to geocosmic studies with a view to granting

certification recognizing individual achievement

in such fields. The term "geocosmic" is defined

as "of or pertaining to the study of correspon-

dences and cycles involving earthly phenomena

and cosmic (celestial) events." This purpose is

implemented by

• disseminating information through NCGR

publications, including journals, newsletters,

books, monographs, and website;

• providing financial and technical assistance,

guidance, or professional help to individuals

or groups for approved research projects;

• formulating a curriculum and the essentials

of a course of study leading to competency in

geocosmic studies, sponsoring appropriate

educational programs;

• educating students and researchers to vari-

ous levels of competency, chartering regional,

semi-autonomous chapters of NCGR having

the same goals and purposes;

• promoting and encouraging the highest pro-

fessional standard and ethical behavior among

its membership.

NCGR memberletter is a bimonthly publication

of the National Council for Geocosmic Research,

Inc., a nonprofit, tax-exempt, education and re-

search organization. Copyright by NCGR, Inc.

All rights reserved. Authors retain copyright

to their own material. All articles reflect the

views of the authors. Publisher assumes no

responsibility for articles or material contained

therein, or for goods and services advertised.

Publication Guidelines: Please query with

outline or article proposal by emailing editor,

[email protected]. Once accepted,

articles must be sent electronically in MS Word,

or text file according to writer’s guidelines, which

will be provided. No hard copy or CDs. Send

complete references, bibliography, and birth data

(no actual charts) with data source. We reserve

the right to edit all material for sense and space.

NCGR DUES STRUCTURE

• Basic Membership: $55/year; $150/3-year

• Couples Membership (one set of

publications): $75/year; $210/3-year

• Canada/Mexico Membership: $60/year;

$165/3-year; Couples: $80/year; $225/3-

year

• International Membership: (except

Canada and Mexico) $65/year; $180/3-

Do you want to write for NCGR? Our

bimonthly memberletter needs ar-

ticles with a maximum of about 2500 words

that range from current events to interpret-

ing the horoscope of a famous person to

illustrating a technique. All astrological

systems, techniques, and research results

are welcome, especially good chart pro-

files.

We invite all NCGR members to contribute

articles, and let us know which topics you

want to see covered in future issues. Please

query first before sending a full-length ar-

ticle. Short pieces, letters to the editor, and

interesting facts are also welcome. If you

are interested contact memberletter@

geocosmic.org. See left for submission

guidelines.

Loretta Lopez, Publications Director, is

always looking for longer contributions

to the Geocosmic Journal that may be

too lengthy for memberletter. Articles can

tackle any astrological or related subject,

including chart analysis, techniques, re-

search, or anything that suits a magazine

format. Contact us for submission guide-

lines at journal@geocosmic. org. Remem-

ber, NCGR publications reach over 2000

astrologers. It’s a great way to get expo-

sure. To advertise in the Geocosmic

Journal, contact Arlene Nimark at 718-

377-0482, [email protected].

Over 300 lectures from past NCGR confe-rences (including Planetary Revolution,

Boston 2010, , , , , and Geocosmic Alchemy, Balti-more 2007) are now available as downloadableMP3 recordings in our website store. You canorder online at www.geocosmic.org/lectureswhere you will find complete catalogue. If youwish to order a CD, they are $12 each. Ship-ping and handling: add $5 for the 1st CD, $2 foreach additional CD. For delivery outside of US,S & H charges vary. Visa, Mastercard, and Ameri-can Express accepted. Allow 3 weeks for deliveryof CDs within the U.S. Make checks payable toNCGR Publications, and mail to Liane ThomasWade, 531 Main St. #1612, New York, NY10044, 212-838-NCGR, [email protected].

year; Couples: $85/year; $240/3-year

• Lifetime Membership: $900/$1300 cou-

ples; Canada/Mexico: $1000/$1400

couples; Rest of world: $1100/$1500

couples.

To join or renew NCGR membership go to

www.geocosmic.org., or send check or

credit card information to Liane Thomas

Wade.